By: Manoah Kikekon
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| Mr. Samuel Mawuyon Ajose |
In a move set to redefine the political landscape of Lagos State, prominent business mogul and governorship hopeful, Mr. Samuel Mawuyon Ajose (SMA), has declared that the 2027 gubernatorial election must produce a governor of Badagry extraction.
Speaking from his country home in Sowhe, Badagry, Ajose asserted that this long-overdue shift is essential for justice and the development of a region historically pivotal to Lagos and Nigeria yet consistently neglected in terms of infrastructure and economic investment.
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Ajose laid out a compelling historical argument, lamenting that since the creation of Lagos State in 1967, Badagry remains the only division under the IBILE structure—Ikeja, Ikorodu, Badagry, Lagos Island, and Epe—that has never produced a governor.
"Ikeja, Ikorodu, Epe, and Lagos Island have all had their fair share of the governorship seat," he stated, highlighting a glaring inequity that has left Badagry sidelined despite its immense contributions to the state's cultural and economic tapestry.
The business magnate directly linked the region's infrastructural decay and economic stagnation to its absence from the state's highest office. “If an indigene of Badagry had been governor at any point, we would not be dealing with the kind of infrastructural decay that has slowed our economic growth for decades,” Ajose argued passionately. “The neglect is simply because we have never been allowed to lead from the top.”
He forcefully dismissed prevailing narratives that Badagry lacks competent or financially capable individuals to govern a complex state like Lagos, describing such claims as "insulting" and a deliberate attempt to undermine the region's talent pool. He pointed to numerous sons and daughters of Badagry excelling on national and international stages as proof of its readiness to lead.
While confirming his own readiness and qualifications to contest, Ajose was clear that this agitation is not about his personal ambition, SMA, but a collective cause for all of Badagry. “This is not about SMA. It is about Badagry. By 2027, our story must change,” he declared, framing the quest as a fight for recognition and fairness rather than a single individual's political goal.
Ajose issued an appeal to the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), urging them to zone the 2027 governorship ticket to Badagry for the sake of equity and party unity. He simultaneously called for unprecedented solidarity among Badagry indigenes at home and in the diaspora, emphasizing that unity is the key to unlocking this long-denied opportunity.