Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State staged a protest on Tuesday, voicing their displeasure with the outcome of last Saturday’s party primaries. The demonstration, which took place in the Oke-Koto area of Agege, drew attention to what protesters called an unfair and manipulated process that sidelined the true will of party members.
The protesters, chanting slogans and carrying placards, openly rejected the results that declared Mr. Babatunde Azeez and Mr. Abiodun Akinola as the chairmanship candidates for Agege Local Government and Orile-Agege Local Council Development Area (LCDA), respectively. According to the protesting group, these candidates were not chosen by popular vote but were forced on members by certain influential figures within the party.
Mr. Sabitu Kamorudeen, who led the protest and serves as the Chairman of the 2023 Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) in Agege, noted that the decision to impose candidates had stirred unrest among grassroots members. He claimed the selection process was manipulated and lacked fairness.
“We are here to challenge those using President Bola Tinubu’s name to impose their candidates,” he said. “The results are not only misleading but are a gross misrepresentation of the democratic will of our party members in Agege and Orile-Agege. The outcomes are not a reflection of due process but reek of manipulation and abuse of party machinery by entrenched interests, who have hijacked our local politics.”
Speaking further, Mr. Adetunji Akinyemi, spokesperson for the PCC in Orile-Agege LCDA, noted that while members respect the authority of the party, this respect should not be mistaken for acceptance of undemocratic practices.
“We cannot support a scenario where a single individual, wielding inordinate influence, positions himself as the sole arbiter of who rises or falls within the party in Agege,” he said.
Another party leader, Mr. Akeem Ashiru, called on the Lagos APC leadership and the National Working Committee to urgently address what he described as a hijack of the party at the local level.
“This is Lagos and this is Agege, it is not a political estate to be inherited or transferred at will. For many of us, Agege is not only our constituency, it is our home. We have no ancestral retreats beyond these communities and so we must insist on justice, fairness and the preservation of peace,” Ashiru said.
Asanat Lawal, another member of the protest group, said that their loyalty remains with the APC and President Tinubu’s second-term agenda, but insisted they would not accept injustice.
“We will continue to resist every attempt to destroy our democratic foundation of our local politics and we will defend the rights of our people to be represented by individuals of their choosing not by fiat, coercion or hereditary succession,” she said.
In response to the growing discontent, the APC has set up an appeal committee to examine the complaints and allegations of malpractice raised by party members and aspirants. The party urged those affected to file their appeals by 12 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has announced that the local government elections will be held on July 12.
