The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is facing fresh internal turmoil as aggrieved party members from Agege Local Government and Orile-Agege Local Council Development Area staged a protest at the party’s secretariat in Ikeja on Wednesday.
The protesters, under the banner of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), accused the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, of imposing his loyalists, including his son, on the party as candidates for the forthcoming local government elections.
The demonstrators, who have sustained their agitation for over three weeks, issued a stern three-day ultimatum to the APC leadership to address their grievances or risk “escalation to another level.”
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Adetunji Akinyemi, spokesperson for the PCC in Orile-Agege, said their group boasts over 5,000 active members who are prepared to withdraw support from the party in the 2027 general elections unless the alleged monopolisation of political positions by the Obasa-led faction is addressed.
“For the past 16 years in Agege, the Obasa Movement has cornered all political positions.
“We’ve not been allowed to present our own candidates. He is not the only leader in the party,” Akinyemi declared.
He specifically condemned the nomination of Tunde Azeez, described as a reclusive and ailing candidate, as the APC’s flagbearer for the Agege chairmanship seat, saying, “He has not been seen in the community.”
Akinyemi further alleged that Obasa positioned his own son as vice-chairmanship candidate, a strategic move, he claimed, to ensure dynastic succession in the event of the chairman’s incapacity.
According to the protesters, the APC power structure in Agege was originally designed to be shared between two factions, the Justice Forum and the Obasa Movement, but the arrangement has been jettisoned in favour of total dominance by the Speaker's camp.
“We don’t intend to leave the party. But come 2027, we will not work for the APC unless there is justice. We’ve lost confidence in the appeal committee led by Lawal Pedro.
“They have ignored our concerns. This protest is our way of escalating the issue to the state level,” Akinyemi emphasised.
The protesters were received by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Seye Oladejo, and the State Secretary, Adeola Jokomba, on behalf of the APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi.
In his remarks, Oladejo commended the protesters for conducting themselves peacefully and assured them that their concerns would be taken seriously.
“We appreciate your peaceful conduct. This party belongs to all of us. We must not mismanage our success.
“We’ve had the people’s trust since 1999 and cannot afford to take that for granted.
“Agege belongs to all of us, not just a faction. Your concerns will be conveyed to the party chairman and elevated appropriately,” Oladejo said.
Jokomba, the party’s State Secretary, also promised that the matter would be addressed through dialogue, urging the aggrieved members to remain within the APC fold.
“We will use dialogue to settle this issue. Your protest letter will be forwarded to the appeal committee.
“Please don’t abandon the party for another. We will resolve this in a family way,” Jokomba assured.
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