POSTERS declaring the world's richest black woman Folorunsho Alakija as a candidate for the Lagos State governorship race in 2015 have appeared all over city of Lagos within the last few days.
In a surprise development which caught political pundits by surprise, the posters appeared out of nowhere at several locations across the Lagos metropolis. Some were even posted n the walls of the Lagos State secretariat in Alausa, the seat of the government where incumbent governor Babatunde Fashola's offices are located. Ms Alakija, 62, a business tycoon involved in the fashion, oil and printing is from Ikorodu in Lagos State and is resident in Lagos, fully qualifying her to stand.
last year, Forbes magazine put her fortune at about $7.3bn, making her the richest black woman in the world, overtaking Oprah Winfrey who is valued at $2.8bn. Some of the posters read: “2015: Vote Folorunsho Alakija for Governor," although they did not specify under what party platform Ms Alakija would be contesting. It is still not clear if Ms Alakija authorised the posters to be printed on her behalf or not.
Ms Alakija is seen by many as a woman of impeccable character and one that could provide the needed leadership to move Lagos State forward. However, with the All Progressives Congress in full control of Lagos politics, she would likely need to stand under its banner to get elected as governor. In the 1980s, Ms Alakija's company Famfa Oil got an oil prospecting license which went on to become OML127, one of Nigeria’s most prolific oil blocks. Famfa Oil owned a 60% stake in the block until 2000, when then President Olusegun Obasanjo acquired a 50% interest in the block.
Famfa Oil went to court to challenge the acquisition and the Nigerian Supreme Court reinstated the 50% stake to Famfa Oil in May 2012. Ms Alakija owns a 60% stake in the block, which is the main source of her fortune.
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