By Olatunji Malomo
It's not a secret anymore who the Lagos State PDP Gubernatorial Deputy will be for the 2023 General election. Few days ago, the 2023 PDP Gubernatorial Candidate, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran aka Jandor picked his Gubernatorial Deputy in the person of the popular award winning actress, movie producer, entrepreneur who is also a law graduate, Olufunke Ayotunde Akindele aka Jenifa ala her hit movie "Jenifa". Jandor picked Funke Akindele for many reasons, reasons many critics will later find out to be a brilliant political move. Funke may not be your average politician, and perhaps, a card carrying PDP member before now, but she's a Lagosian, activist and people person, yes, people person with a huge following of 15 million on Facebook and Instagram, but again, who is actually a born politician? We all just try to find a footing in a political setting or terrain, but she's very popular among young and old. Likeability is always a catch when choosing a deputy or a vice. Funke is a likeable person around the world. You may ask yourself how does that huge following translate to votes for Lagos State PDP? The answer will surprise many people that have not been following political statistics in Lagos State. According to my investigation and many sources, Jandor picked Funke Akindele as his running mate for three reasons. For disclosure, at this point, am not close to Jandor or his campaign. The last time I met one on one with him was when he was decamping from APC to PDP and he kindly donated a sum of 100,000 naira to the e-Registration efforts to register more members, both PDP members and new entrants into PDP from APC and other parties. My write-up here is based on investigation and pure conjecture. POPULARITY In the last 21 years of Lagos State PDP, according to statistics, the ruling party always beat PDP by a margin of 25-30%. Many PDP candidates over the years had been unable to move up the ladder beyond that losing margin-albeit small margin. We tried core members and decamped members, yet the margin of losing was always there. Personally, before my investigation, I thought the same thing every Lagos State PDP member was thinking. How could someone pick a deputy based on social media popularity of 15 million, knowing those figures are not specifically from Lagos State alone and many of them are not likely to vote for PDP or even vote at all. Many fans just like Funke Akindele for her entertainment alone, but many don't know she has a law degree from University of Lagos. She's a successful entrepreneur and a global brand plus an internationally acclaimed movie producer, but the underlying fact here of the genius in picking her as deputy is hidden in that losing margin of PDP against the ruling party. If Mrs. Akindele-Bello has 15 million on social media, we know many will not vote for her, but if she can energize about 300,000 - 500,000 of those followers in Lagos State, that could plug that hole of 20-30%. If PDP can register members and encourage those members to go out and vote, PDP will win and beat APC hands down with all their rigging and intimidation over the years. In the last general election, we could have won if not for the rigging and intimidation of our supporters in our strongholds. Despite all the rigging and intimidation, APC could still not beat us by 500,000. This is where the popularity of Funke Akindele comes in handy... to plug the hole and put PDP over the top in 2023. INTRA PARTY FEUD. We all know it's a fact that Jandor coming to PDP met a divided Lagos State PDP, unless if we want to sugarcoat it. It would be practically impossible to pick a running mate among the feuding factions without stepping on other faction's toes, so to speak. He tried managing the situation according to his ability, but the issue still persists. At the moment, there are some party members that are still on the fence trying to play " I no go gree", but I ask them, to what end will this continue if we all claim we love the party? Will it be a joy for any PDP member to see us lose in 2023 because of innate personal issues? The Gubernatorial candidate of our party, Dr. Olajide couldn't have picked from BG's Camp, Doherty's, Ogunkelu's, Maina's or any other without resentment and acrimony from these factions. So, picking an outsider away from these competing factions is a wise decision. This can only add value to the party rather than reducing our chances in 2023. We must for the sake of the party, PDP, close ranks and forget about personal interest and work assiduously for the party to win in 2023. GENDER FRIENDLY AND YOUTHFULNESS According to my investigation, Jandor picked Funke Akindele as Deputy Candidate because of her age. He believes Funke Akindele who is 44 years old, like he himself, will attract more youths to the party and in turn galvanize more votes for PDP in 2023. Funke Akindele can bring in more votes from the youths into the party. Also being a professional woman, she can attract more young professional women into the party aside from her fan base. When you consider the yearnings of our youths for political inclusion, any candidate or party that wants to win must consider the youths in many appointments, especially in the wake of EndSARS protest. If our party can campaign and work hard at the polling units, losing will be a thing of the past for us and Alausa will be ours. So, in conclusion, Jandor picking Funke Akindele as Deputy is a perfect recipe for a successful 2023 election. I will advise our members to close ranks and consider their labours in PDP over the years and embrace this ticket. I believe if we all put in our best and work for the Party to succeed, the ruling APC Party will be defeated. May God bless PDP May God bless Lagos State and May God bless Nigeria Olatunji Malomo is rhe Lagos State PDP E-Registration Coordinator
