Hon. Solomon Adeola, the APC senatorial candidate for Lagos West is promising free internet access in Ikeja’s computer village, according to an emailed statement.
What is more, he is also pledging to facilitate non-collateralized loans for members of the Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria, CAPDAN. And for good measure, he is promising them “a voice in Abuja particularly in bills and policies relating to ICT”.
With Nigeria’s general elections less than 30 days away, these kinds of populist promises are to be expected. And even though it might sound like weapons-grade road apples, this is the kind of thing that Ikeja’s computer village traders might want to hear, beleaguered on many sides as they are by the government, which has made varying pitched sounds about transplanting the congested market from its current location and big technology business like Microsoft and Tecno that have allegedly encouraged regulatory crackdowns on their business.
The press release notes that the APC senatorial candidate was in Ikeja over the weekend to accept a campaign bus donated by members of CAPDAN to his campaign organization. Because various subsets of this organisation have been known to act on their own, it is not quite clear that this is an official endorsement of Mr. Adeola’s senatorial bid. But it does appear that he at least has some support within their ranks. We are trying to contact CAPDAN for comment on the development.
Mr Adeola who currently represents the Alimosho constituency in the House of Representatives is going up against PDP’s Segun Adewale, an aviation executive who is said to have a ton of self-made money but is a political neophyte.
Ikeja’s computer village, which in less than two decades developed into the focal point of computer, accessories and mobile phone trading in Nigeria, was said in 2013 to generate revenues north of $2 billion.
