TheCable

Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior, says Balogun Abdulrasaq Tope, governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) in Lagos, has stepped down for Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Aregbesola, in a tweet on Friday, announced that Tope would be working for the re-election bid of Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos.

“We have struck an agreement with the Candidate of Action Alliance (AA) in Lagos State, Mr Balogun AbdulRasaq Tope to step down and work for the re-election bid of Gov. Babajide SanwoOlu (@jidesanwoolu) and the APC in Lagos,” Aregbesola said.

“Chairman of Action Alliance in Lagos State, Mr Ayinla Oniru, and a former Sole Administrator of Alimosho Local Government, Mr Gani Quadri were also at the meeting.”

We have struck an agreement with the Candidate of Action Alliance (AA) in Lagos State, Mr Balogun AbdulRasaq Tope to step down and work for the re-election bid of Gov. Babajide SanwoOlu (@jidesanwoolu) and the APC in Lagos. pic.twitter.com/I55Xg59lU3

— Rauf Aregbesola (@raufaregbesola) March 17, 2023

Over the past few days, the candidacy of Sanwo-Olu has been boosted by a gale of endorsements.

Recently, the Accord Party in the state endorsed the re-election bid of the governor.

Also, the Alliance of Registered Political Parties (ARPP), a coalition of nine political parties,  endorsed him as its candidate.

The political parties are the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Allied Peoples Movement (APM).

Others are the National Rescue Movement (NRM), the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).

Aregbesola, a former governor of Osun, is one of the key stakeholders in Lagos politics.

The minister was a commissioner in Lagos in the cabinet of Bola Tinubu, between 1999 to 2007 when he was the governor of the state.

However, recent political events show that Aregbesola had fallen out with Tinubu, his erstwhile political godfather as the former did not actively participate in the presidential campaign of the latter.