Nigerians to vote in governorship polls as ruling party scrambles to regain lost ground in key states

Lagos, Nigeria CNN —Nigerians will on Saturday vote in delayed governorship polls, weeks after a controversial and disputed presidential election.
The gubernatorial race will be decided in 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states as the ruling party scrambles to regain lost ground in key states.
But all eyes will be on the tense contest for control of the country’s wealthy Lagos State, which analysts say will be the “most competitive” in the state’s history.
“This may be the most competitive governorship election in Lagos State,” political analyst Sam Amadi tells CNN.
As President-elect, his influence may have grown in Lagos but the Obidients are strong,” Amadi says, speaking of supporters of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi.
This is partly credited to political godfather and kingmaker, Bola Tinubu, who is said to have handpicked every Lagos governor since leaving office in 2007.
Labour Party governorship candidate for Lagos State Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour looks on during a meeting with members of his campaign team at his office in Lagos, Nigeria, on March 3, 2023.
Patrick Meinhardt/AFP via Getty ImagesObi is the first presidential candidate from the opposition to win in Lagos.
Amadi says his popularity with young people might be the game changer in the Lagos gubernatorial poll.
Adediran’s party has polled second in every governorship vote in Lagos since the return to civilian rule in 1999.
Lagos gubernatorial candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Babajide Sanwo-Olu is seen in Lagos on January 24, 2023.
Jandor (Adediran) is left behind because PDP had been dismantled in southern Nigeria and has no enthusiasm factor in Lagos,” Amadi said.
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