Former running mate to the late governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Funso Williams, in 2003, Alhaja Safurat Abdulkareem, has been picked as the running mate of the party’s candidate for the 2015 governorship election in Lagos, Jimi Agbaje.
Agbaje revealed the identity of his running mate on Sunday, in a statement signed by his Director of Publicity, Felix Oboagwina.
According to the statement, Abdulkareem is a trained teacher, an accountant and the wife of a retired Air Force officer. She also holds an MBA degree.
The statement quoted her as saying that she would complement her boss and assist in ushering into Lagos State a refreshing atmosphere, devoid of state-brewed intimidation and human rights abuses.
She said she was humbled about being chosen for the noble responsibility.
“Mr. Jimi Agbaje is an amiable personality. He is a complete gentleman,” Abdulkareem said.
“I hope I can really, really complement him and assist him in winning the 2015 election because Lagosians strongly desire a change in government.”
She said she was joining Agbaje to seek for the governorship seat at a time residents of the state wanted to break the shackles of subjugation that had held them bound for 16 years.
“Our chances are very bright. Everybody wants a change in Lagos. They want personalities who can bring positive programmes to their lives,” she added.
“We want to usher into Lagos a better way of governance, devoid of coercion and intimidation.”
Born on 23rd June 1961 to the family of Abdulmananu Mofolorunsho Layode and Risikat Ayinke Layode, she attended Government Teachers’ College, Badagry, where she obtained a Teacher’s Grade II Certificate.
She then proceeded to the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State from 1985 to 1987 for an Ordinary National Diploma in Accounting, followed by a Higher National Diploma from the Kano State Polytechnic (1990).
In 2006, she completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Management from the University of Ado-Ekiti and worked as an Accounting Officer with Bintu Binta Trading Company, Kano, in 1987.
Abdulkareem later returned to the South West where she rose to become the General Manager of the Disk Engineering Limited between 1990 and 1996. She later became Managing Director of Transmit Network between 1996 and 1999.
