Factions within the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday held parallel local government congress across the 245 wards of the 20 local government areas of the state.
The two major factions of the party comprising the Tunde Balogun faction and the Lagos4Lagos group held their separate local government congresses where new local government officers emerged through consensus and affirmation without any violence recorded.
In Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area, both factions recorded huge turnout of party at the designated venues.
On the side of the Tunde Balogun faction, a former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Ahmed Ipoola Omisore said the party is returning the party to the people and the grassroot as offices are shared between the two LCDAs that make up the local government area.
He stated that “We are returning the party to our people as we have elected officers to run the affairs of our great party at the grassroot in he LCDA and the Local Government.
Normally, both are once one local government and since it was unbundled, it is expected that we share the offices between the two councils. So there is no rivalry, no quarrel and dispute.”
In his assessment of the conduct of the congress, Chairman of the Local Government Congress Electoral Committee in Ifako-Ijaye Local Government, Hon Sultan Adeniji Adele disclosed that accreditation of delegates was by voice affirmation.
While describing the conduct as peaceful and rancor free despite different tribes that turned out for the congress, he noted, “We found out that there is so much peace among the leadership of the party and the members. I want to advice other local government to emulate what has played out today. They have demonstrated peaceful conduct through the process of the congress irrespective of the tribes. I have seen that there are people of different tribes present here today but despite that the exercise went peacefully.”
We accredited the delegates that are to vote for the local government executives by affirmation. The second step was to call out candidates vying for different offices and all party members affirmed through voice votes that they are pleased with the executive lists. In other local government, there might be an election but here in Ifako-Ijaye, it’s a voice affirmation. There were eleven wards altogether. Ifako-Ijaye has six wards and Ojokoro LCDA has five wards and there are 27 executives per ward and at the LGA level also, there are 27 executives.”
In Agege Local Government, Vice-chairman, Apex Committee, Lagos4Lagos, Hon Prince Sunday Ajayi said his group remains the only faction of the Lagos APC that upholds the party constitution in the conduct of the congress.
He said, “We are doing our local government congress as today is September 4, a day set aside for the conduct of the congress by the national body of the APC. All the people gathered here are the ward executives inaugurated yesterday because the national body said the executive must be inaugurated yesterday.”
“We have 27 executives. After calling the names of the aspirants and there is no opposition, and since there is no opposition, we affirmed. It is a consensus method.
We are two factions in Lagos but Lagos4Lagos is the only faction of the APC that conducted the ward congress. The other side only paraded appointed candidates but we own the population of the party.”
For instance, they held local government election, Lagos APC registered 2.5million members but less than 500,000 members voted as a result of our boycotting the election. We have over 2millions members in Lagos state and that is why the national body cannot close its eyes to us.
“As it is here that is how it is in all the 20 local government areas across the State.”
Also in Agege Local Government, Hon Afolabi Rasheed Osanyinpeju of the Lagos4Lagos faction said, “We need to appreciate God and also appreciate that our loyalty is to the party. We believe in the party supremacy that had set up caretaker committee from the national down to the grass root and guideline were issues for the conduct of the congress which we abide by.
As members of the APC, we believe in the constitution of the APC and as such we have been able to follow through due process of the congress from the ward that process all the ward executives across the 245 Wards of Lagos state. And today, by the same guidelines which has instructed that it is 245 ward excos that will elect Local Government executive officers of the party which was held today.
In addition to all the 27 ward executives, there are 5 delegates from each ward that are refer to as local government delegates and they were able to do accreditation. It is those local government executives that voted me and the other two, Prince Sunday Ajayi and Comrade Kayode Opeifa as the national delegate. It’s a good one and I am happy, we abided by the processes of the party.
“We did everything in the right way. At the last ward congress, we were the only group that conducted affirmation exercises in all the 245 wards and there are video and pictorial evidences to attest to that which was submitted to the appeal committee. But on the other side, it was business as usual. They impose unpopular candidates over popular candidates. That impunity of operating democracy and we can never get a good result if internal democracy is not upheld.”
In Orile-Agege LCDA, a member of the state delegate from the Lagos4Lagos faction, Prince Adeniyi Jafojo said his group aims to liberate the party from being a one-man affair to a true people’s party.
He said, “We are trying to bring the party to the people. We are striving to liberate the party from being a one man affair to a truly people’s party so that the leaders can have the control of the party the way it should be. We have conducted on Ward Congress and the Local Government Congress the way it ought to be done. These are evidences. Our party is for the people and by the people. This is what APC is known for.
“You might call us names but for us at Lagos4Lagos, we are doing the right thing and that is the most important thing. If they are saying they are not in support of us, who voted them in? Is it not the people and the people are saying, they want to be in control of their affairs, so, what’s the fuse about that? They are telling us that the people do not matter and they are bent on running an autocratic government which we are against in Lagos4Lagos.”
“Ours is for the people to enjoy the dividends of democracy and not to be bossing on the people. This is what we are going to do. We are going to give the party back to the people.”
In Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area, it was a different tale as ten aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who are seeking re-election in Local Government Congress alleged the party’s State Caretaker Committee Chairman, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, of depriving them the nomination forms for the congress despite paying into the bank account of the National body.
Speaking with journalists at a press conference in Festac, the incumbent LGA APC Chairman of Amuwo-Odofin, Ayodele Ogungbiye, said he and nine other aggrieved executives were eligible to be re-elected because they have only served one term.
He alleged that “Despite showing all the bank tellers to the state Chairman, myself and the executives seeking re-election were not giving nomination forms. After a while, Valentine Buraimoh and his Chief of Staff, Segun Idris came and went straight to the Tunde Balogun’s office. The first thing they did was to allege me of belonging to Lagos4Lagos Movement led by Olajide Adediran (Jandor) who I have not met in my life. It was even the Council Chairman that gave Lagos4Lagos group an office in the council secretariat to be holding meetings because they are his boys. It was when the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu accused him of accommodating the group that made him to take over the office from the group.”
Valentine was asked to prove his allegations against but he could not and I asked them to go and investigate if I belong to the Jandor group. The following day, APC Amuwo-Odofin Apex leadership was called without my knowledge where they go against the agreed conditions and shared the positions among the leadership of the wards loyal to Valentine Buraimoh and the council Chairman of Ori-Ade LCDA, Alhaji Ramota for LG Executives and took it to state party secretariat on Monday.
The 27 nomination forms were handed over to Valentine Buraimoh to be shared between him and Alhaji Ramota which he did by giving out 13 forms to her,” Ogungbiye narrated.
He accused the state chairman of not doing the right thing by the directives of the National body, saying that the nomination forms were supposed to be given to those who paid for them not loyalists of Council Chairmen.
Also speaking, the incumbent Publicity Secretary, Oyefeso Ayodeji and the Assistant Women Leader, Mrs. Funmilayo Oladimeji, separately expressed their dissatisfaction over the alleged manipulation by the state Chairman, calling on the national body not to honour the outcome of the local government Congress in the state.
They added that they were qualified to seek re-election since they just spent one term in office, adding that they were surprised hearing that nomination forms had been handed over to the council Chairmen to share to their loyalists.
Also, a former Chairman of Ojokoro LCDA, Hon Benjamin Olabimjo said, “Ifako and Ojokoro have been together for many years. We have been cohabiting without any rancor and that is what played out here today. We have elected 27 members drawn from Ifako and Ojokoro as one local government as recommended by the federal government.
“We tolerate each other in Ifako-Ijaye. It is not that we don’t quarrel but we have learnt to live with each other in peace so that there won’t be any problem in the party. We are praying to retain the presidency in APC and how do we achieve it? It is when we share good relationship and cooperate with ourselves this can be achieved. We disagree with ourselves but we sit at the round table to resolve whatever issues and this has been our strength in Ifako-Ijaye LCDA.”
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