By Akinwale Kasali
There is crisis in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Lagos State following the May 29th, Local Government Primaries.
The Party enmeshed in crisis in the State, especially in Ojodu Local Council Development Area.
APC Stalwart, Cardinal Odumbaku’s Son, Segun, is one of the Aspirants, and a strong contender alongside Alhaja Kafayat Funmilayo Layeni, KFL.
During the Primaries, there was disruption in five Wards of the Six Wards in the LCDA, forcing the electoral process not to hold. The Primaries was held only in Ward A, Ogba,Oluwole, where KFL came out victorious with 645 votes as against Odumbaku’s 6 votes. Two voided votes were recorded.
However, the result was allegedly rejected by Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC, through the perceived influence of incumbent Chairman of Ojodu LCDA, Hon. Muyiwa Julius Oloro and Hon. Toke Benson, Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Housing.
In a video that went viral, Hon. Benson was seen manipulating the Electoral Officials to cancel the Primary election in Ward A due to what she termed disorderliness in the process.
Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Hon. Lola Akande, was seen addressing the situation, putting a call through to the APC Chairman in the State, countering what Benson said.
Following this development, the APC leadership in the State still brainstorm on the next line of action. News filtered in among Party faithfuls that LASIEC was about to give the APC form to Segun Odunmbaku. It has led to a mass protest.
The supporters of KFL took to the Streets of Ojodu, down to the APC Secretariat at Acme Road, Ogba, with placards and different inscriptions, calling for the will of the people to be respected, and also fighting against the imposition of candidate.
The Group under the aegis of Team Kafayat Funmilayo Layeni, KFL, stormed the streets in Ojodu to showcase their dissatisfaction over the recent development as regards the alleged Imposition.
A statement by Olalekan Oni, Spokesman for Team KFL, said that it is disheartening that a minority group wants to have an edge over the majority, urging the APC leadership to look into the issue in earnest.
The Group also called out Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, Member, House of Representatives representing Ikeja Federal Constituency for not defending the mandate of KFL
In his words, “It is on record that there was no election in five wards out of six wards in ojodu LCDA and the only ward where election was held was in ward A, oluwole/sogunro/ogba and Alhaja KAFAYAT FUNMILAYO LAYENI (KFL) was the sole winner of the ward A election.
“Going by the above, the TEAM KFL is saying that they are the majority and minority cannot rule over the majority. We are saying that our mandate/ticket should not be given to any other candidate except Alhaja KAFAYAT FUNMILAYO LAYENI (KFL), she’s loved by the majority, the majority wants her as the next Chairman of OJODU LCDA and nothing should change that”, Oni concluded.
In the same vein, another Group, Sogunro Youth Association, SOYA, in Ojodu LCDA, has called on the APC leadership to listen to voice of the masses and let the votes of the constituents count.
SOYA said that it is disheartening, callous, annoying, abuse of their fundamental Human Rights and disenfranchisement for the APC leadership to Impose a Candidate who is of the minority, against an aspirant that is widely accepted and also won her Ward with a high margin.
The Group said in a democratic setting such imposition shouldn’t be tolerated.
It condemned the imposition in its entirety, insisting that the will of the people must be respected regardless of how influential the imposed aspirant his.
In a statement jointly signed by Kehinde Oyebanji, President of SOYA and Rafiu Ponle, the Assistant Youth Leader of Ward A, said the mandate of Alhaja Kafayat Funmilayo Layeni, KFL, must be respected as the chosen and elected aspirant.
“We frown at the alleged Imposition of Segun Odunmbaku as Candidate of the APC in the forthcoming Chairmanship election in Ojodu LCDA. It is a slap on our Face because the will of the people is not respected.
“As stated in today’s protest, it is KFL or nobody because she won the primaries, regardless of what happens in other Wards where Election was disrupted by Hon. Julius Muyiwa Oloro and his accomplice, Hon. Toke Benson. We will not allow our rights and franchise to be tampered upon.
“We trusted Hon. Abiodun James Faleke, the Honourable Member representing Ikeja at the Federal House of Representatives, but he has stand aloof, and hasn’t defended our principal, KFL, which puts us in a fix. We expected Hon. Faleke to stand his grand for the will of the people to be respected. It basically shows there is conspiracy which we won’t accept.
“KFL is the Pearl of our time and we are ready to stand by her regardless of the situation. She is the Chosen and anointed one. She won the election regardless of the situation that led to the disruption of the Primaries in other Wards.
“In her Mandate we stand. It was said that Hon. Oloro went to the Wards and instigated that the Election should be stopped. If the APC leadership appoints a Chairman what is the essence of an election and campaigning when the ultimate is to appoint.
“This is a first tier of government and you are doing this and the National Chairman of APC is alllegedly vying for Presidency. Video evidence shows that there was purported plan to disrupt the election to make way for the Government Advisory Council, GAC – appointed Candidate.
“It is a well known fact that the APC leader in Lagos State in a true Democratic going as far on National Television claiming he doesn’t have a favourite Candidate, lo and behold what would be the basis of picking a winner when there was zero Election in all polling units allegedly.
“It is either there will be a rerun or consensus Candidate”, the statement reads.
On visiting the APC Secretariat on Acme Road to get the reaction of the Party on this development, it claimed that the Party is working tirelessly to address the issue and would get across to the media about its decision.
LASIEC on the other hand, when this news medium visited their office on Birrel Road in Sabo, Yaba, Lagos, declined talking to the media on the issue.
