Jimi Agbaje warns diaspora south-south youths can shut economy if Goodluck is not elected

LAGOS State's People's Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate Jimi Agbaje has warned that Niger Delta militants could shut the country's economy down if President Goodluck Jonathan was not returned to power next month.   
In February, Mr Agbaje will be running for Lagos State governor in the same elections during which President Jonathan will be up against General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Visiting London yesterday to woo the diaspora and raise funds for his campaign, Mr Agbaje warned of the consequences of not returning President Goodluck to office.   
At a packed meeting in London called by Mr Agbaje's supporters and the UK chapter of the PDP, the governorship candidate warned of the dangers of not being sensitive when voting. While outlining his plans for Lagos State if elected governor, Mr Agbaje said it was also important to be mindful of what happened at the centre.   
Mr Agbaje said: "The Buhari of today is not the Buhari of 2007 or 2011 as he is operating on the steam of those who put him there for their own selfish purposes. We also have to appreciate the fact that the people in the south-south have the ability to shut the system down of their man is not elected.   
"Remember that they have done it before. yes, it can happen in the north too but we have to ask ourselves which of the two scenarios we can survive best."   
Pointing out that if elected, he would seek to tap into the potential of the diaspora, Mr Agbaje said he would seek to bring as many Nigerians in the UK back home as possible so Lagos State can benefit from their expertise. He also added that he was in favour of allowing disaporans to vote once the necessary structures were put in place.   Mr Agbaje added: "I think we have to recognise the diaspora as a constituency that has a role to play as they bring along experience and ideas. 
They are coming from a more developed society so have a lot to offer.   "We have to see how many of them we can bring back home and see how they can add value to the process. I support diaspora voting too but there are still issues to be resolved before it can happen so it is about getting the timing right."   
Outlining his plans for Lagos State, Mr Agbaje said he planned to build 150,000 housing units over the next four years if elected. He added that between 1999 and now, only 25,000 units have been built, which is way short of the annual demand of at least 120,000, so he planned to start off increasing this in the hope that the numbers would multiply with time.   
Among the other plans Mr Agbaje outlined are proposals to develop the rural parts of the state, introduce a health programme similar to the British National Health Service and invest more in education. He added that at the moment, 82% of the education budget was spent on recurrent expenditure and of the 18% that was capital, 10% of this went to the secretariat.   
Among the guests who attended the event were Dr Bamanga Tukur, the former PDP chairman and local community leaders in the UK. These included the chairman of the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK, Chief Bimbo Afolayan, Dr Alistair Soyode, the chairman of Ben TV, the former mayor of Enfield Kate Anolue and Anna Mbachu, the former mayor of Waltham Forest.