Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, has revealed that he believes the unexpected surge of support for the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate Peter Obi in Lagos significantly affected his chances of winning the 2023 Lagos State governorship election. Jandor, who was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), argued that the political landscape shifted dramatically after Obi’s success in the February 2023 presidential election, making it harder for the PDP to mount a successful challenge against the incumbent, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday, Jandor said, “The 2023 election came with this tsunami that nobody ever expected, and it was there for everybody to see.” He went on to explain that the momentum gained by Peter Obi’s Labour Party following his strong showing in the presidential election weeks earlier was a game-changer for the Lagos governorship race.
Jandor’s comments come after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC the winner of the Lagos governorship election, with 762,134 votes. Labour Party’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour finished second with 312,329 votes, while Jandor came third, securing only 62,449 votes. Jandor’s claim that the dynamics of the election changed dramatically after the presidential race highlights how the political landscape in Lagos shifted in unexpected ways during the election period.
Before the presidential election, Jandor believes his party, the PDP, was in a strong position to challenge Sanwo-Olu’s APC, especially considering the lack of engagement from the APC on the streets of Lagos. “Before the general election, we were on the streets of Lagos, and the ruling party was nowhere to be found. We had several debates, and he (Sanwo-Olu) didn’t show up; he even said he didn’t want to share a stage with me,” Jandor recalled. This lack of visibility from Sanwo-Olu’s campaign, he argued, gave the PDP a sense of momentum.
However, the political environment changed drastically with the February presidential election, where Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate, garnered significant support in Lagos. According to INEC results, Obi led in Lagos with 58.8% of the vote, followed by Bola Tinubu of the APC with 41.8%, and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP in third place. This shift in voter sentiment toward the Labour Party created an unanticipated wave, which Jandor believes hurt the PDP’s chances in the subsequent governorship race.
“The moment that happened, there was this belief that if we do this, we can get this state off XYZ. So, we were victims of that political wave,” Jandor explained, referring to the surge in support for Obi in Lagos. He believes that Obi’s performance in the presidential election made it easier for people to imagine a shift in political power in the state, creating a “wave” that worked against his chances.
Jandor’s argument aligns with the idea of the “Peter Obi Effect,” a term often used to describe the unexpected surge in popularity of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, during the 2023 elections. Obi’s ability to connect with young, urban voters and his campaign’s focus on issues such as anti-corruption and good governance created a sense of excitement and change that resonated with many Nigerians, including those in Lagos.
However, Jandor insists that the wave caused by Obi’s strong showing in the presidential election fundamentally changed the nature of the governorship race. “Each time I address my people, I tell them: look, we did everything, but that wave came and swallowed the whole thing; nobody saw that coming,” Jandor said, admitting that while his team worked hard on the ground, the unexpected political shift made victory increasingly unlikely.
Rhodes-Vivour’s second-place finish in the election was a testament to the growing popularity of the Labour Party in Lagos, which was once considered a stronghold of the APC. It also suggests that a shift is occurring in Lagos politics, with more voters looking to alternative parties that promise a break from the traditional two-party system.
As for Jandor, the third-place finish in the Lagos governorship race, though disappointing, may not mark the end of his political career. He has made it clear that his mission is to continue fighting for a better Lagos, and he remains a prominent figure within the PDP.
