I Lost Lagos Governorship Election Because Of Peter Obi – Jandor

The 2023 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, has claimed that he would have won the election if not for Peter Obi’s victory in the presidential poll in the state.

Obi was the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).

According to Jandor, Obi’s victory altered the political dynamics against the PDP ahead of the governorship election, which was held weeks later.

He made this statement on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

Jandor explained that the governorship race was a two-horse contest before the presidential election, but Obi’s win reshaped voters’ expectations.

“The 2023 election came with its dynamics, and it was a two-horse race until the presidential election. If you look at what happened in the presidential election, 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,” 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,” he added.

Jandor eventually lost the governorship election, securing 62,449 votes and finishing third.

The incumbent governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), won 762,134 votes, while Labour Party’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour came second with 312,329 votes.

On Monday, Jandor announced his resignation from the PDP, citing growing indiscipline and widespread anti-party activities within the party.

He specifically accused some PDP leaders, including former Deputy National Chairman Chief Olabode George, of working against the party during the 2023 elections.