A chieftain of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State, Kayode Salako said he resigned as the party’s chairman in the state to contest the seat of the Oshodi-Isolo Constituency 1 in the House of Representatives.
Salako made this known in a chat with Channels Television on Wednesday hours after he handed over the party’s leadership in Lagos to an ex-deputy women leader in the state, Dayo Ekong.
“We held our legal stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos yesterday (Tuesday). I willingly handed over the running of the affairs of the party to Mrs Dayo Ekong because I wanted to contest an election.
“I am the candidate of the party for the House of Representatives seat in Oshodi-Isolo Constituency 1. The election is about 40 days’ time and I need to concentrate to face the challenges,” Salako said.
The Labour Party is believed to be a third force with the emergence of a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi as its 2023 presidential candidate.
Obi’s growing popularity amongst young people and his endorsements by elder statesmen including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, nonagenarian leaders such as Edwin Clark and Ayo Adebanjo have rattled dominant parties like the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The LP presidential candidate has also been put ahead of the other 17 candidates in pre-election polls which his co-contestants have dismissed. However, only time will tell the winner of the February 25 election.