Femi Otedola, a businessman and Chairman of Forte Oil PLC, has “accepted” the offer of a governorship ticket by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), according to Sahara Reporters.
Dele Momodu, Publisher of Ovation magazine, Otedola also tweeted that he “personally confirmed” the news that he will run against Akinwunmi Ambode, the incumbent Governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in 2019.
“Breaking news: Lagos 2019 promises to be interesting. PDP offers Femi Otedola governorship ticket. He’s accepted and personally confirmed to The Boss newspaper,” Momodu wrote.
Otedola’s emergence comes a day after Ambode officially declared interest in a second term, telling supporters at Alausa:
“In these three and a half years as your Governor, I have seen visible proof that we can achieve unbelievable things when we all come together with no more than our belief in our dreams.
“We achieved because you believed. But there is still a lot more to be done. But I am not daunted. I am not tired. And I am sure you feel the same way because we all envision a better Lagos, a Lagos of our dreams.
“So, I humbly call you again, to give me your support as I seek to continue with your mandate to steer the affairs of our State. I ask you to believe again and together, let’s achieve more,” Governor Ambode said.
Read Also: Otedola Denies Rumours of Governorship Ambition
Recall that sometime in May, news emerged online that the renown businessman was running for Governor of Lagos state under the aegis APC. Otedola, whose father was once a governor of the state and also hails from Epe Local Government like Ambode, denied the rumours, insisting that the current governor was doing a good job. He tweeted:
“My attention has been drawn to a news piece where false information from a parody account was posted,” Otedola tweeted in the early hours of Friday.
“I am a man of the people and I will always be on the side of the masses but I am stating clearly via this medium that I am not running for office.”
“The Governor of Lagos State is doing a commendable job and Lagosians should be proud of him,” he said.
It appears things have now taken a new turn and will get even more interesting in the months to come.
Of course we will keep you posted as all the drama unfolds.
