Ahead of the July 12 local government elections, a crisis is developing inside the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress as a number of party leaders and chairmanship candidates have reacted negatively to what they have called a scheme to impose candidates.
The disgruntled leaders and members, who came from different local government and council development regions, charged that important party executives were trying to undermine grassroots democracy by hand-picking candidates instead of allowing for fair competition.
The schedule and rules for the start of the election process for the 57 council chairmanship seats and 376 councillorship posts, which are distributed across the state’s 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs, were previously made public by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission in April.
According to reports, the party advocated for the use of consensus when choosing candidates for the party council primaries scheduled to take place today.
Party leaders in different LGAs established internal committees to assess candidates and expedite those who were chosen as consensus candidates after the party’s decision.
Some candidates and party members, however, have revolted over the action, claiming that it was being used to impose preferred candidates instead than promoting fair competition.
Party members have allegedly accused the situation of subverting the democratic process, resulting in protests in several local councils.
According to reports, a panel of party leaders in Ojokoro LCDA, acting under the authority of the Ojokoro Apex Council, vetted three candidates for the chairmanship; Mobolaji Sanusi was the unanimous choice.
A letter delivered to Cornelius Ojelabi, the state APC chairman, and signed by former House of Representatives members Ipoola Omisore and Adisa Owolabi declared Sanusi’s emergence.
Trouble began a few days later, though, when Rosiji Yemisi was selected as a candidate for chairperson after being screened by another group of party leaders.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a group member accused the apex council of trying to force them to choose a “foreigner backed by the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudasiru Obasa,” as their chairmanship candidate.
A purported conspiracy to force one Babatunde Ojo to be the party’s chairmanship candidate also sparked protests in Yaba LCDA.
Reacting to the allegations, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Lagos, Seye Oladejo, dismissed claims of imposition, insisting that the party had not concluded its primary processes and that consensus remained a legitimate and constitutionally recognised mechanism.
“They are going around telling us that the President has given the directive on who should emerge. This is false and disrespectful to the President, who is known to support internal democracy,” he said.
Opeyemi Ahmed, the media assistant to Agboyi-Ketu LCDA’s outgoing chairman, Dele Osinowo, bemoaned the usage of the consensus process and charged that some party officials were imposing their will by selecting their own candidates.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, Ahmed warned that Tinubu’s chances of winning reelection could be jeopardised if the situation is not checked.
Speaking on the matter, party head Fouad Oki sternly warned party officials to adopt internal democracy or face electoral wrath.
He issued the warning in an open letter titled, “Lagos APC’s crisis of Democracy: Internal strife and the risk to President Tinubu’s stronghold”.
“The Lagos APC must choose democracy over cliques. If party managers still believe they know better than voters, permit me to remind you of the stakes: disenfranchised grassroots can sabotage not only council polls, but also general elections to come. Unity forged under injustice is brittle; lasting strength requires inclusivity,” he warned.
In response to the accusations, Seye Oladejo, the APC’s Lagos Publicity Secretary, denied accusations of imposition, stating that the party had not completed its main procedures and that consensus was still a valid and constitutionally acknowledged process.
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