Following the death of former Senator Bayo Osinowo, the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) produced four viable candidates to contest for the by-election of the Lagos East Senatorial District. However, there has been a disarray in the party since the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, endorsed Tokunbo Abiru, the fifth candidate, as his preferred choice. Many party members are of the opinion that Abiru, who is a banker and not a politician, is not fit for the position. And there are speculations that Mr Tokunbo is in line to be the next Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and this political move, if he loses, could ruin his career path in the banking industry. Abiru had briefly worked with the government in 2011, under Governor Babatunde Fashola: he was appointed the Commissioner of Finance for Lagos State and his input was commended. Nevertheless, in 2013, after eighteen months of office, he resigned to take up a position as the Executive Director of First Bank of Nigeria Limited.

The influence of Tinubu in the Nigerian political space is far reaching, so the chances of his candidate losing the election is slim. The two-time governor of Lagos state had allegedly been the hand behind Abiru’s appointment as the Managing Director of the now defunct Skye Bank, a position from which Abiru ascended into becoming the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Polaris Bank. Initially, when Tinubu endorsed Abiru for the by-election contest, the GAC members had opposed, but they later yielded to Tinubu’s influence. The four candidates which the party leaders had picked themselves are: Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji (Epe), Olalekan Adeleke Ogunbanwo (Ikorodu), Rotimi Olowo (Somolu), and Hon. Dayo Bush-Alebioshu (Kosofe). Tinubu, on seeing the four names, had opposed to them and asked for an expansion. And in the course of this expansion, Tokunbo Abiru, Bode Oyedele, and Wole Diya were added, and Tinubu settled for Abiru.

While the party members are worried that Abiru’s ascension as the zone’s senatorial candidate would be a problem because of his lack of experience as a politician, some also say Tinubu is making the push because Abiru, unlike the other politicians on the list, would be someone he can control. On the other hand, Abiru treads a risky path: to contest for the election he has to give up his banking profession and this takes him off the queue for the Governor of CBN, and if he loses the election, then he has lost on two ends.