DESPITE OPPOSITION BY A SECTION OF LAGOS MARKET WOMEN,TINUBU STILL INSIST ON IMPOSING DAUGHTER AS IYALOJA OF LAGOS

THE Secretary-General of Lagos Markets, Deacon Lanre Ajayi, has  put to rest the controversy that trailed the emergence of Mrs Folashde Tinubu-Ojo as the new Iyaloja of Lagos, saying she fulfilled what was stated in the constitution.

Speaking with Saturday Tribune in a telephone interview,  on Friday, Deacon Ajayi admitted that though it came as a shock to many people when it was announced by the constituted authorities that Folashade, the daughter of the former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, would be the next Iyaloja, she was qualified to be. He insisted that what many people didn't know was that Folashade fulfilled "to a large extent" what is stated in the constitution guiding markets operations and how a new Iyaloja should be chosen in Lagos State.

"Our constitution states that a would-be Iyaloja must be a high ranking-officer in the leadership echelon of all markets in Lagos State. The new Iyaloja, Mrs Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, was until her appointment, the Chairman of the Marketing Development Board in Lagos State. By this position alone, she has met the basic requirements of the office," he said.

Deacon Ajayi further revealed that apart from being the Chairman of the Marketing Development Board (a position she still occupies, it was gathered), Folashade also won the support of over two-thirds of the markets' high-ranking officers who were "constitutionally empowered to select who the next Iyaloja would be."

"I know that it is not everybody that will be happy about the development, as no one really knows what was running through some people's minds the day she was announced as the new Iyaloja, even though there was jubilation on that day; but you can't deny the fact that she fulfilled certain critical conditions," he remarked.

But a section of the Lagos market stake holders insist that Deacon Ajayi is talking on his own behalf and does not represent the greater majority who are opposed to Tinubu's actions. They claimed that Deacon Ajayi has been bought over by Tinubu and thus his views are compromised.