5 Reasons Why Ambode Won Lagos

It is no longer news that the candidate of the
All Progressives Congress for Lagos State,
Mr Akinwunmi Ambode emerged the winner
of the Gubernatorial elections, in what can be
described as a keenly contested poll.

What is interesting is how he achieved this
feat despite the popularity of his closest rival
Mr Jimi Agbaje of the Peoples Democratic
Party and in this article, we will explore 5
reasons the former Accountant General of
Lagos got the mandate.
Robust Party Structure
In Lagos State the All Progressives Congress
which metarmophosed from the Alliance for
Democracy to the Action Congress of Nigeria,
has remained a strategic, formidable and
solid party in Nigeria’s economic capital.
With the ideology of the progressives, the
party has driven its programs and policies in
a manner that the Lagosians can identify its
template and trademark.
As for the Gubernatorial elections, the party
leveraged on its status as the ruling party to
woo voters, that despite the change at the
centre, continuity remained the best option
for Lagos and this played a significant role in
Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode’s victory.
Innovative and Strategic Publicity Team
The Ambode campaign publicity team led by
Mr Steve Ayorinde, did a remarkable job
bringing creativity, innovation and flair to the
adverts, videos and messages from the APC
candidate.
All the publicity tools deployed were youth
friendly, grassroot oriented and Lagos
activated, depicting the convincing manner of
leadership Lagosians will enjoy, if they vote
the APC.
Considering the stiff competition faced from
the PDP candidate Mr Jimi Agbaje in the
advert space, the packaging and presentation
of Ambode, by his Media/PR team
contributed immensely to his feat.
Towering Support from Tinubu and Fashola
Not many States can boast in the 4th
Republic of the cooperation of Governors
since 1999 till date, but Lagos is one
example of how the baton of leadership has
moved from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to Mr
Babatunde Raji Fashola and now Mr
Akinwunmi Ambode.
The APC candidate unlike his counterpart
across the Nation and in other parties,
enjoyed the massive support of Tinubu and
Fashola in the Gubernatorial campaigns
across the State.
Even when the Oba Akiolu statement came
up, creating the possibility of a swing in the
votes, Governor Babatunde Fashola gave a
passionate message to Lagosians which was
inspiring and convincing.
The Tinubu/Fashola collaboration played a
great role in the emergence of Ambode as
Governor-elect.
The Federal/State Synergy
Since the turn of the 4th republic, Lagos has
always been in the opposition party, which
obviously affected the required investment
and support from the Federal Government.
With the victory of the All Progressives
Congress at the Presidential elections, the
possibility of having a solid partnership and
synergy between the Federal and Lagos State
governments came to the fore, and the
Ambode campaign capitalized on this
opportunity sensitizing and wooing the
voters.
The thought and opportunity of having this
cooperation and a strong Federal presence,
shaped the elections outcome in favour of Mr
Ambode.
Sustainability of Projects/Policies/Programs
One of the factors that facilitate development
and growth in a States, is a sustainable
policy framework. In Lagos the All
Progressives Congress had laid out a policy
framework that will guide the State to even
2025.
A change in government, was going to stall
that as there was no guarantee that some of
the mega projects embarked upon was going
to continued.
With the Mile 12-Ikorodu road still ongoing,
the rail project amongst others the APC
campaigned vigorously urging Lagosians to
vote for the continuity of the legacy projects
in Lagos State.
This paid off massively for the Ambode
campaign team, as the voters considered
‘continuity’.
Now that Mr Akinwunmi Ambode has been
declared winner and Governor-elect, he has
no other option but to “Go and Deliver”.