Funke Akindele – I Incur Backlashes For Joining Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Funke Akindele, has said that she received several backlashes for choosing to join Peoples Democratic Party, hence, the need to let her fans and followers know why she made the choice.

Funke has been named the Peoples Democratic Party deputy governorship candidate of Lagos State, with this position, she had become the running mate of the PDP Lagos State governorship candidate, Olajide Adediran, popularly called Jandor.

The mother of two confirmed that she has suspended her acting career to focus on her new political aspiration.

Speaking on channels politics today, Funke revealed why she adopts the opposition party, PDP as her choice political party.

Why PDP?

“I have received a lot of backlash for choosing PDP, a lot of people have been talking, asking why, she’s been bought over, oh this and that. No, no, [i was not bought over] you need a party with a structure if you want to win; a viable party and PDP is strong.

“We need PDP to take over. It is because the party is structured, that’s why I’m there and the governorship candidate is the right person for Lagos state,” Funke added.

On how she can influence change within the PDP structure that has been for decades and given her status as a new party member, she said, “for Dr. Oladian and I, we are going to make a lot of change. like I said, we are young, we are bringing new energy, a breath of air, a clear departure from the norm, the youths are out now, we need to get there and correct so many wrongs. give us a chance and we will make a difference.

Are you counting on your colleagues’ support, who are already rooting for the ruling party?

“I Know politics is a dirty game and some dirty people are in politics, so let us go in there and clean it up. As for my colleagues, I know they will support me, they know how disciplined, and dedicated I am, and how consistent I’ve been over the years so they will.

“For those who want to support the other party, everybody has a right to support whoever they want to support.”

Funke started her conversation on the night by beaming light on her career achievement and how she can translate the same energy into governance.

In her words, “First I need to let people know something, I am very very compassionate about people. People working with me, children, I’ve been working for two decades and I’ve been running the company for over fourteen years, and I deal with a lot of people every day.

“I’ve been shunning out content for over seventeen years, Working with, and managing people is a lot of work, and I can still shun out good content. I’ve been doing that on a smaller scale, and because I’m so passionate about people, ensuring they live in good condition, even in the studio, we have hospitals and we provide a good and conducive environment for the staff and the workers. With a strength of over a hundred staff and over the years I’ve worked with over seven thousand production teams.

“That I’ve been doing on a smaller scale, and all along I’ve faced different challenges as a Lagosian, living in Lagos, and I looked at It and asked, are we going to continue like this?

No. I am tired of talking, let’s do something about it, so I’ve been thinking about it, hmmm, I would like to do this on a bigger scale to better the lives of people living in Lagos, so when this opportunity came, I quickly jumped on it.”

The actress turned Politician confirms that she became a member of the PDP not later than three months ago.

Speaking about what inspired her to want to become a deputy governor of Lagos state, Akindele said there are so many things wrong with the administration of the state that must be corrected.

In her words, “I wasn’t inspired by Selensky, but what Inspired me is that I live in Lagos, I do not like the way we live in Lagos, and the standard is pretty low. Lagos is suffering from infrastructure decay and deficit. it is sad! we need to do something, the young people need to come out, we keep complaining, hiding behind our keypads, typing on Twitter and social media. This is the time to step in and correct so many wrongs and be part of the system. So when Jandor approached me, I was so much impressed, the burning desire for a change to better the life of Lagosians, so I must say, was so infectious.”

The Omo Ghetto producer also confirm that Jandor approached him and without hesitation, she accepted because that is what she has always wanted because I m also tired of what’s going on in Lagos.

Funke Akindele’s estranged husband, JJC Skillz recently announced on social media that are not together again over unresolved differences.

Speaking about how she handles her personal issue constantly in the public space and now in politics, Funke said, “it is normal. if you are in the limelight people are going to talk about you. This is new terrain for me, I must confess, and it is normal for people to ask certain questions like, this is not movie-making, she’s a comedian, can she do it, we are not here to play, these have been the life of Lagosians, people living in Lagos, are we going to turn it into comedy, No!

“I have blood running in my veins, I have so many challenges, running a studio for over fourteen years, it’s not easy, I’m in the system, I’m in the pain, and people know where the shoes pinch them. calling out the anchor that he knows what he goes through living in the state. You wake up at 5 am and you come back at 12 a, it is a lot. So I want to go in there for the women, children, the young people because I m so bothered about them.

Speaking about how she intended to solve Lagosians’ problem, Funke said, “I work with over seven thousand, production members, I listen to them and I tried to proffer solutions within my capacity.

I and Dr. Olajidem are bringing fresh ideas, and new energy, devoid of nepotism or tribalism, we want to do the right.

Speaking about what she will bring given Lagos standard, “I said earlier on, Lagos is suffering from infrastructural decadence and deficiency. Yes, Lagos is a metropolitan city, its a large, sophisticated, commercial, and tech hub, people come in and out to do business here, we shouldn’t be talking about bad roads, we shouldn’t be talking about the poor health system, look at the children, we have over two million children out of school, why?

When the moderator queried further her fact about 2 million children are out of school, Funke Said, she confirms that she was not referring to Nigeria as a whole but in Lagos.

Funke further queries past and present administrations of the state, asking “we said education is free, do they have free uniforms? can’t we provide at least one free meal for them, provide good learning and teaching aides, train and retrain teachers, the women out there are we empowering them, the young people, the unemployed people are out there.

What program do we have for them, try to empower them, vocational skills acquisition for them, and export their talents?

I am in the entertainment sector, i have to put aside and sacrifice my career for this. So, for my people, for Nigerians, for Lagosians and for my children, and for myself.

On how she will balance infrastructural financial demand and generate revenue to meet such demand, Funke said, presently we are working with a strategic team on a blueprint, and build data, so we don’t build Lagos based on assumptions.

But majorly, I am coming in for the women, the children, and the young people to support the governor without getting a second opinion, to do what is right to get professionals in our sectors, so along the line, I will be letting out all our plans.

Clarifying what she means by a ‘second opinion’, she said, it means doing the appropriate thing without others telling us what to do.”

I am saying there are a lot of problems in Lagos, and my focus is on the challenges and proffers solutions, I am tired of talking, tired of typing, and I’m coming in now to make a change. I am a mother don’t forget, I’ve worked with different people from all works of life for over 17 years, so I know where the shoe pinches, I feel their pulse. She corroborated her points about being a content creator, by saying that she’s been making people happy with her content because she knows what people want and that can be translated into governance because she knows what the challenges are. In her words, I shun out content, I make people happy with my content because I know what people want, if I can do that with my business, I can do that with the state too. What is important is that you are emotionally intelligent as a leader.

Speaking on how she will transfer her ‘capital’, pedigree, and weight from the entertainment industry into politics, bearing in mind that she will be facing political big-wigs. She said, “first of all, I want to thank my fans and followers for believing in me. it is not easy shunning out content, people think filmmaking is fun, it takes a lot, of pain, dedication, passion, and sweat to do it, and now I have mastered the craft, so it looks too easy to people.

But I have fans and followers, I hear their pains, I listen to tv and the news, and I also feel the ai, so I’m going out there now to proffer solutions, going in for my fans, followers, and Lagosians. It is time for a positive change for the youth, the women, and the children. I m true to myself, what I’m coming in for is to better the life of Lagosians.

I Am Not A Figurehead

Reacting to the question which seeks how much influence she has or would get a deputy governor to be able to execute her programmes, Akindele said, “Dr. Olajide oladiran listens, he has listening ears, he carries his people along. I m not a figurehead, we are going to talk about it together, and we are going to make the decisions together. I am coming in for the women, youth, and children, anything that would make life easier for them, I will do it and we will do it together.

Traffic in Lagos

Jandor and I have a lot of work to do, I must say. we’ll start from the bad roads, the trap potholes, and even the traffic lights, things are not professionally nor properly done, due to nepotism, tribalism, and favoritism, so when we get there we are going to correct a lot of things to see the problems Lagosians are going through concerning traffic.