By Bilesanmi Abayomi
Lanre Carew, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for Kosofe Constituency 1 in Lagos State House of Assembly, came a distant third in the election held on March 18. The reason behind his defeat has now been revealed by political analysts.
Before the presidential and National Assembly election held on February 25, political developments had given the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Akinwande Osikominu, a chance to challenge the incumbent lawmaker representing Kosofe constituency 1, Hon. Sanni Ganiu Okanlawon, and APC candidate Lanre Carew. However, the outcome of the poll, in which the Labour party defeated the two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), swung massive votes for the LP candidate.
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One major factor that affected Carew’s chances was the sudden collapse of the SDP executive for the PDP candidate, Jandor, a few days before the governorship election. Additionally, many of Carew’s supporters were aggrieved members of the APC, while some were serving in the current APC administration at the local, state, and federal levels. After the embarrassing presidential election results and the looming danger posed by LP Governorship candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the APC went back to the drawing board to appeal to aggrieved members and threatened those drawing salary from the state purse.
Furthermore, Carew’s sudden relocation to Dubai shortly after losing the 2021 Kosofe Local Government Chairmanship to the incumbent chairman on the platform of the APC was another factor. Carew’s relocation created an opportunity for Hon. Sanni Ganiu Okanlawon, the Kosofe constituency 1 lawmaker-elect, to mend fences with Governor Advisory council members and APC leaders who backed Carew for the chairmanship as against his candidate, Hon. Moyosore Ogunlewe.
In a viral clip, former Kosofe Local Government Chairman Hon. Ademuyiwa Adedeji likened the SDP candidate to PDP Presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who spent more time in the United Arab Emirates than in the country he sought to govern. Adedeji emphasized that Carew lived in Dubai and not Nigeria, and that he would not be accessible if elected.
These factors all contributed to the reasons why Lanre Carew came a distant third in the Kosofe Constituency 1 election. Political watchers across Kosofe are now waiting to see when the SDP candidate will relocate to his alleged Dubai base after the House of Assembly election.