Lagos State House of Assembly Chief Imam, Dr. Abdul-Hakeem Abdul-Lateef, has declared his intention to vie for the state’s governorship seat in 2023.
Dr. Abdul-Hakeem who was also a former Commissioner for Home Affairs in Lagos declared his intention during the inauguration of “Iyepe 2023 We Fit Do Am” project, a movement meant to create political awareness among people of the state on Tuesday.
He said: “There is apathy in the county; not so many people are involved in voting these days. It has been going down in Lagos State.
“Out of about 24 million people in Lagos State, during the last voting exercise we witness less than 1.5 million voters.
“You can see that there is a gradual level of disinterestedness by the populace. So we have started this movement to raise political awareness to encourage people to have hope that we can have transformation.
“By the time we encourage more people to participate in politics, we believe that things will change for the better by the grace of God.
“Iyepe is a symbol of unity which reminds us that we are all from Adam who was created from sand.
“A leader who bears Iyepe will bring about unity among the people.”
The ex-commissioner said the greatest challenge in the nation’s politics was apathy.
He urged Lagos residents to believe that nothing was impossible, adding that the time had come when votes would begin to count in order to bring into the leadership competent and committed people.
Abdul-Lateef, who has not revealed the party under whose umbrella he would contest the governorship election, said he was optimistic that people of Lagos would support him when the time comes.
He, however, commended the leadership role of All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Bola Tinubu, for working towards leading the state to the promised land.
He also commended past governors of Lagos and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for their tremendous leadership role in the state.
