I had stirred the honest nest and threw up a poser to my readers. Who do you think best for post SANWO-OLU Lagos and threw up four names. One proponent called in and asked why the President’s Chief of Staff was not on my list of nominees. I was waiting for this, so that I can finally just say my mind about his purported candidacy. Mr Gbaja – you will forgive me for my penchant of using the short form of his convulated surname cos I always misspell it – should stand down on this ambition in Lagos if he has that dream....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The reason for my position is very clear and obvious Lagos is too important a city state to be continually used as a reward scheme for loyal party men.

The 5th largest economy in Africa, the economic hub of the sub region and the busiest and most important markets, pulling in almost 50% of FDI, generating over 50% of national IGR with some very unique challenges like infrastructural deficit , enlarging slum encroachment, crime and other socio-economic challenges

So it can not be continually pawned out for self interest driven fiefdom maintaining indices

Mr Gbaja and indeed most of the frontline names being tauted have not shown either by their backgrounds, experience and outlook any strong qualifications for the task of pushing the mega state into the ambience of 21st century technology driven kinship with colleague city states globally.

Gbaja has been quite phenomenal in the rent driven , retail mobilization and lineal authority characterised politics that is the bane of APC politics.

Gbaja has been a very long serving soldier at the House of Rep with his immediate Surulere constituency being a strong beneficiary of that methusalean push at politics

If you drive round Surulere, you will see a lot of his footprints.

From schools to roads down to boreholes and even hostels in tertiary institutions.

With his uncanny understanding of the body politics, he has driven a philanthropy arrowhead push at an almost immortal perch on the political stage.

For him, it is not thought leadership of the Fashola genre or the ideological driven spectre of Awo but a firm hold on a Philanthropic platform that is a little notch higher than the crass stomach infrastructure model made popular by Ayo Fayose in Ekiti.

I really do not like hearing Gbaja’s name on a post SANWO-OLU Lagos list cos it smirks of a desperation to hold position without any real plan for the people

One of the longest runs in the House with a Number 4 perching and now a Chief Of Staff positioning which should and must be complemented with a run at the Presidency and not a sheepish turn around to Lagos where he hopes to bully his way thru.

The optics are not looking good as it does not show a statesmanlike approach to leadership but a desperate manchurian fight for political survival at the expense of the people and good governance .

I would rather support a jaundiced Seyi Tinubu candidacy than a Gbaja candidacy and I do not make this statement lightly

Mr Gbaja has served, he should retire into a consultancy positioning if he can’t wrestle the Presidency from his principal and not be looking for the next best step to take.

Lagos cannot be a low hanging fruit for a politician seeking relevance.

This write up is a preemptive one, as to the best of my knowledge, I have not heard or seen any thing that suggests a Gbaja candidacy but was triggered by the weird suggestion of one Bayo who asked that Gaja be put on a survey of potential candidates that I had just thrown up.

These are my views and I think very strongly that if Gbaja has any hope for a political redemption, he had better just take my advice and retire or may as well just come and beat me.

Thank you

Duke of Shomolu