The meeting between Ambode and members of the Lagos Assembly must have rattled the Speaker and those close to him. At the meeting, it was learnt that the lawmakers blessed Ambode and promised to work for him. Even when they later denied endorsing the aspirant, their denial was strictly based on condition of anonymity.

With the various endorsements of Ambode, the handwriting got clearer by the day that he could clinch the party’s ticket. Moreover, party chieftains told everyone who wanted to listen that Ambode’s ambition was in agreement with the powers that be within the party. A major advantage for him is his religion. He is coming at a time Lagosians began to clamour for a Christian as governor. Most of the other aspirants are Muslims except Leke Pitan, who many believed did not have the political weight as Ambode or even Hamzat. Solomon, preferably called by his initials, GOS, is believed to have the clout and structure to effectively slug it out with Ambode. His major challenge had to do with his alleged stubbornness and fear that, as a politician, he could take over the party structure in the state if given such opportunity.

A meeting by the other aspirants to come up with a consensus candidate that could wrest the position of the party’s flagbearer from Ambode had constantly hit the rocks.

According to reports, one of such meetings held at the Protea Hotel, Maryland area of Lagos recently, yielded no result as it was revealed that Hamzat stormed out of the meeting in anger that a consensus may not benefit him.

“They arrived at a plot to select or elect one of them as a consensus candidate ahead of the primary election coming up on 4 December 2014. Their plan is to pool their resources, machinery and followership together in support of such consensus candidate against Ambode at the primaries. Believing erroneously that Tinubu is behind Ambode’s aspiration and hoping to deal a devastating political blow on both of them at the primaries, the aspirants, at an earlier meeting, agreed to meet and produce a consensus candidate in good time so as to allow for time to project their choice candidate as acceptable to them all, The Guardian newspaper had reported a source as saying concerning the meeting.

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, national leader of the APC, had given credence to that erroneous belief of the endorsement of Ambode when he reportedly told the aspirants in a meeting that he had not endorsed any of them. He was said to have told the aspirants to all get prepared to test their strength at the primary election.

Tinubu, who was said to have reminded the aspirants that they could not all be governor, urged them to work with anyone who emerges finally as well as the party to ensure victory at the poll since the party was not taking mildly the threat by the PDP to capture Lagos. A disunity at this stage, he warned, would spell doom for the APC. He was reported to have warned aspirants against the continued use of his name to give the impression that he was backing any of them.

These happened before Supo Shasore hit the public with his unique way of declaring his interest in the race. Shasore, a former attorney-general of the state, was earlier rumoured to be interested in contesting. The rumour turned to reality when his posters got displayed in every nook and cranny of the state. He also engaged in serious advertisements to press his ambition – which was considered to have come late – into the consciousness of the voting residents of the state.

•Shasore

As the countdown to the primary election in the state thickened, the aspirants, except Ambode, kicked for a postponement. The election was earlier moved to 3 December by the party, but under the aegis of Lagos Governorship Aspirants 2014, the aspirants said their decision was hinged on many reasons one of which was that the primaries, as it had been defined to hold, could lead to legal issues that could thwart the party’s chances at the main election. While advising for the building of consensus before the primary election would hold, in a letter signed by most of the aspirants including Olanrewaju Ope, Solomon, Ikuforiji, Tayo Akinmade Ayinde, Pitan, Hamzat, Dr. Tola Kasali, Shasore, Adekunle Disu, Adetokunbo Tobun Agbesanwa and Adetokunbo Williams, to Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the party’s national chairman, Muiz Banire, the national legal adviser, and other party stalwarts in the state, the aspirants inisted that where elections would hold, the delegates should be from the 20 Local Government Areas as recognised in the constitution as well as the party’s article rather than an additional list of delegates from the Local Council Development Areas not recognised by the constitution as this could lead to crisis. They also raised fear of possible violence during the primary election.

Henry Ajomale, chairman of the Lagos chapter of the party, said some of the fears of the aspirants had been put into consideration before the primaries. One of such solutions was the approval by the national secretariat that the exercise be held at a more secure and accommodating place, hence the choice of Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan.

Corroborating this, Joe Igbokwe said some of the fears by the aspirants had been resolved and that the indirect primaries would hold as expected.