What Jimi Agbaje's win means for the APC

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has declared Jimi Agbaje as the candidate who will represent the party at the 2015 Lagos State Governorship elections.

Agbaje emerged winner at the party’s primaries which held on December 8, 2014 beating his major competitor, former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro and 3 other opponents.

The results of the primaries came as a shock to many who expected Obanikoro to win due to his ‘political experience’ and longer membership of the party. It was however an open secret that the leadership of the ‘Lagos PDP’ was not in support of Obanikoro’s emergence as the party’s candidate.

Adeseye Ogunlewe (A former Minister of Works and chieftain of the Lagos PDP) stated in a December 7, 2014 interview with Punch Newspaper that Obanikoro could not emerge as the party’s Lagos State governorship candidate because he was ‘too controversial’. Popular PDP chieftain Bode George also made it clear that he was going to put his weight behind Agbaje.

Agbaje’s win has signalled the beginning of a new kind of politics in Lagos state; the politics of equal competition.

It appears that the PDP has finally put forward a candidate who Lagosians seem to like (and might cast their votes for in the upcoming elections).

The 2015 elections in Lagos will be certainly be a tough run as the ruling party APC, which recently chose Akinwunmi Ambode to run for Governor of the state, might have finally met their match in Agbaje.