Jandor blames ‘Obi effect’ for 2023 Lagos gov defeat
By Jeffrey Agbo
Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, has attributed his loss in the 2023 Lagos State governorship election to the unexpected surge of support for the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme on Tuesday, the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate argued that the so-called “Obi effect” reshaped the political landscape, making it difficult for the PDP to compete effectively against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The 2023 election came with this tsunami that nobody ever expected, and it was there for everybody to see,” Jandor said.
He explained that Obi’s victory in Lagos during the February 2023 presidential election dramatically altered the dynamics of the governorship poll held weeks later, shifting momentum away from the PDP.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC the winner of the election with 762,134 votes. LP’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour finished second with 312,329 votes, while Jandor came third with 62,449 votes.
According to Jandor, the PDP was well-positioned to challenge the APC in Lagos before the presidential election.
READ MORE: Jandor dumps PDP
“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,” he recalled.
He maintained that the governorship race was shaping up as a two-horse contest between the PDP and the APC until the outcome of the presidential election shifted voter sentiment.
“The 2023 election had its own dynamics. It was a two-horse race until the presidential election. If you look at what happened, Peter Obi came first in Lagos, Asiwaju came second, and Atiku came third.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Despite his disappointment, Jandor expressed confidence that he could have won the election if not for the “Obi effect.” However, he acknowledged that “it wasn’t God’s time yet” for him to become governor.
Jandor, who began his political career in the APC as the leader of the Lagos4Lagos Movement before defecting to the PDP in 2022, recently announced his departure from the PDP, citing internal sabotage.
