Uproar over Lagos APC Ward Congress

Several discontent factions in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State have raised their voices against perceived manipulation of the Ward Congress in the state by the party leaders. The factions doubting the possibility of transparency by the committees set up to look into grievances of APC members over the ward congress, threaten to challenge the party in the court of law to verify the fairness of the July 31 ward congress before the APC state congress holds.

The protesting factions were identified to include Lagos4Lagos, led by Abdul-Azeez Adediran, a.k.a. Jandor; Democrat Group led by factional APC State chairman in Lagos, Fouad Oki, and the Conscience Forum led by Moshood El-Salvador and Akinwunmi Ambode Campaign Organisation (AAMCO).

The four protesting factions were said to have held consultation with the APC Appeal Committee in Lagos on their discontentment, but there was no agreement on the terms of resolution.

The protesting four factions were said to be in possession of details and documents on the irregularities and injustice against their members at the ward congress, and would be adopting the facts to pursue their suits in court.

It would appear that legal action is inevitable in the Lagos APC since the national leadership in Abuja had after the controversial ward congresses in several states, declared that parallel congresses would not the accepted in Abuja.

The Lagos4Lagos faction disagreed with the party decision on consensus candidates for the Ward Congresses. The faction, therefore, held parallel congresses in the state and, subsequently, submitted list of its elected officers to the APC headquarters in Abuja.
The action, however, may have contradicted the earlier decision of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) led by Governor Mai Mala-Buni of Yobe State, which had rejected parallel congresses before protests erupted. The decision was announced by Secretary of the CECPC, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe. The CECPC, however, set up a five-man appeal committee with Ibrahim Akaje as chairman, to handle the disputes over the ward congresses.

The protesting factions unanimously expressed disappointment over the composition of the committee members, identifying a member to be loyalist of the principal beneficiaries of the ward congresses being protested. Other factions faulted the sitting venue of the committee at the Lagos APC Secretariat, ACME Road, Ogba.
The Democrat faction was gathered to have petitioned the CECPC, protesting the inclusion of a member of the appeals committee, who the petitioner identified as a card-carrying member of Lagos APC, and a known loyalist of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; as well as an associate of the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Tayo Ayinde. The faction argued that the committee has already been compromised with the inclusion of the questionable member, who it alleged would be protesting the interests of his political allies.

The protesters insisted that the Lagos APC Executive must provide evidence that the ward congresses conducted transparency. The sales of nomination forms to aspirants is also being questioned by the agitators.

The Convener of Lagos4Lagos coalition, Adediran, was gathered to have said the Lagos4Lagos coalition submitted the list of elected members at the APC Secretariat, Abuja, before the Lagos APC could send its own list of consensus candidates.

The Lagos4Lagos coalition convener has been battling to dismantle the status quo dominated by godfatherism in Lagos politics.

The Stage Publicity Secretary of the Lagos APC, Seye Oladejo, was said to have counter the protests, saying that Oki and Adediran are being sponsored and are same fronts.

Seye Oladejo berated Adediran, who he said is behaving like a unionist than a member of political party.

“Adediran cannot continue to parade himself like a unionist in the midst of a well-organised party. We are dealing with the life and destinies of the estimated 20 million population of Lagos to form a government and initiate policies that will improve the state. It is not about noise making and throwing tantrums,” Oladejo was cited to have said.

The State Publicity Secretary was also cited to have stated: “If Oki claimed he boycotted the meeting, it shows that he is as important as not being noticed at the meeting. Nobody felt his absence.”

He was said to cautioned Salvador. According to the state publicity secretary, “The party is still understudying his relevance since he joined in 2018 or thereabout.” He questioned Salvador’s contributions since he joined Lagos APC. prominent APC leaders in the state, who include Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Mudashiru Obasa, etc., were said to have traveled to London, the United Kingdom, for consultation with APC national elader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on the crisis over the ward congress before the State Congresses would hold on September 4.

Meanwhile, party members anticipate that the intervention of Tinubu could help in resolving the raging ward congress crisis in the state. They have optimism on Tinubu’s capacity to resolve party crisis in Lagos State. They noted that he did it in the primaries to the local government election, including the local government crisis.