IBADAN, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – The deputy gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State, Funke Akindele, has stated that she doesn’t regret running for office.
She stated this in her first reaction since her silence on her defeat in the 18 March governorship election.
The Nollywood actress and her principal, Abdul-Azeez Adediran aka Jandor, were defeated by the incumbent Governor of Lagos State and the All Progressives Congress candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Akindele and Jandor polled a total number of 62,449 votes, to come a distant third in the election.
On her Instagram page on Monday, she wrote: “It has been an amazing and insightful experience on my journey to the ballot, and I must say, it was an absolute learning curve for me. A lot of things have been learned and unlearned. I sincerely do not regret taking this huge step of running for office.
“I, therefore, want to thank the people of Lagos state for believing in me and supporting my decision to run for office. I saw every message of support online and offline, I heard of all the places where people supported me and challenged those who tried to discredit me.
“I remember every warm welcome during our campaign tour and the faith you all showed in me. The elections might not have panned out in the way we hoped, but it was an honourable run for us. We fought a good fight indeed, as a matter of fact.
“I also want to encourage all who mean well for the Nation and the state of Lagos not to give up. I understand that some of us are beginning to develop some sort of apathy toward the system, however, if we do not speak, we will never be heard. I’m glad that we could at least speak up.
“Thank you once again Lagos, for showing your daughter support. As I consider my next moves in life, I will continue prioritizing the good of the people and the integrity of my position as an advocate for the people. Eko oni baje!”
Following the outcome of the election, the actress deleted all posts relating to politics and the PDP from her Instagram page.
Checks by voiceofnaija.ng on Monday showed that the posts visible on her page of 15.7 million followers were those of her movie promotion and other personal posts.