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‘It was a dream come true for me’ – Hon. Nojeem Babatunde Adams, the newly sworn in member of Lagos House Assembly

Hon. Nojeem Babatunde Adams is the newly sworn-in member of Lagos House of Assembly representing Eti- Osa Constituency 1. He was sworn in on Monday, October 23, 2017.

The 37 year-old alumnus of Lagos State University who has a B.Sc in Accountancy and an MBA in Finance replaces late Hon. Ademola Kazeem, who died on Tuesday, July 18, 2017.

In this interview, the married father of three children who worked at Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, told us how he emerged victorious in the bye election and his relationship with the late law maker…

 

We want to congratulate you on your swearing in as a member of Lagos House of Assembly.

Thank you.

How does it make you feel? 

I feel happy, joyous and I want to appreciate everybody that has contributed to this victory. First and foremost, I will like to thank almighty Allah. I thank my family, the people of my constituency, the kabiyesi and the party leaders. It is a dream come true.

What do you mean when you say it is a dream come true? 

It is a dream come true because I have been planning to be a member of the Assembly since 2015.

Did you contest against the late Hon. Kazeem at party primary in 2015? 

No, I did not contest against him because he was my personal person. I had a cordial relationship with him then.

How and when did your relationship with late Hon. Kazeem start?

A- Before he became a member of Lagos House of Assembly (2011), we were together in Lagos Internal Revenue Service. I joined the service in 2009 and met him there. We interacted for two years before he left in 2011 to contest for the House of Assembly election.

At the constituency level, I was part of those who worked for him to win the election then.
Again, in 2015, I gave him all the necessary support. I made vests, posters and I campaigned seriously for him. He was like an uncle and a leader to me.
So, after his demise, the leaders of the party called on me to come and contest for his seat.

So, it was the leaders and party loyalists that called on me to come and contest. We thank God, it is a dream come true.

Were there no opposition to your choice by the leaders? 

Definitely, there will be opposition. There were about five other contenders. There was a free and fair primary election. There were 364 delegates for the election. Out of the 364 delegates, 294 voted for me. It was a landslide victory for me. The person who came second got 26 votes and the third person got 22 votes, the fourth person got 1 vote and the last person got nothing.

At the general election also, I won in all the communities in the constituency except in two which are the strong hold of the PDP candidate. I scored 4204 votes against the 1600 plus of the PDP candidate.

Late Hon. Kazeem was said to have done a lot for his constituency. In what way do you think you will be able to surpass this?

I will try my utmost best. First of all, I will make sure I am always available to them when they need me. They are free to come to my office any time to tell me their challenges. I believe I will do more than my predecessor because I am still young.

Since your swearing-in, you have attended plenary session at least twice. Are you in anyway intimidated by your new experience?

I was not. I was given a warm welcome. I really appreciate that. Most especially I want to appreciate the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa who in the few days that I became a member has been like a father to me. I like his style of leadership. He is free to everybody. He gives everybody room to talk particularly as it concerns their constituencies.

 

-Tolani Abatti

Encomium

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