Ahead of next year’s local council election, various interests in the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are battling to outwit one another. At stake is unity of the party and good governance in the state, KEHINDE OLATUNJI reports.
Members of the Lagos chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) appear to be united for a common goal of consolidating on their stronghold of governance in the state. But unhealthy rivalry among groups and cleavages ahead of 2025 council polls and 2027 gubernatorial election is already setting them apart.
Not minding the fact that President Bola Tinubu, who had been the leader of the party since 1999 until he became President last year, had successfully held the party together for almost 25 years and also led it to win seven governorship polls, some ambitious members are now capitalising on Tinubu’s absence to disrupt party arrangement for their political interest.
The development is already having a negative impact on governance and causing distractions to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is trying to be neutral and carry along all tendencies in his government.
Although in 2020, the party’s apex body, Governance Advisory Council (GAC) proscribed all cleavages, but that order was not adhered to, instead they are festering and recruiting more members for the political battle ahead.
However, the contest for the soul of Lagos APC is no longer between the Mandate Group and Justice Forum. Other groups like The Ideal and Asiwaju Solidarity Movement (ASM) are leading other groups to present aspirants for the coming local council polls and 2027 governorship election.
The Guardian investigation revealed that the war of attrition among the cleavages caused the rumble at the party’s secretariat in Ogba recently where aggrieved members from the Alimosho Federal Constituency, assaulted the state chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi.
Ojelabi was accused of favouring a faction allegedly loyal to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals and former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Adefulire Orelope, who has emerged as the leader of Alimoso Federal Constituency, following the fallout of erstwhile Minister of Interior and ex-governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, who led the area in the past with President Tinubu.
Obafemi Hamzat
One of the core loyalists of Aregbesola in the Mandate Group, Abdullahi Enilolobo, who is being looked up to as a possible successor to Aregbesola to lead Alimosho, had been having a running leadership battle with Orelope. Enilolobo and his adherents, like Bisi Yusuf and others felt they could take over the party’s structure for the constituency while Ojelabi is accused of favouring those who believed that Aregbesola’s legacy should be completely relegated in Alimoso.
Besides the fact that the Mandate Group is having its internal fractions, there is also rivalry between adherents of the Mandate Group and Justice Forum over the control of Alimosho, the largest Federal Constituency, ahead of next year and 2027. This nature of rivalry has spread across the state and it has divided members of Lagos APC.
Besides, it was gathered that members of the Mandate Group are backing the incumbent Speaker, State Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa to succeed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2027, while the Justice Forum seems to be sympathetic to the incumbent Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat to succeed his boss.
Though the rivalry looks simple and innocuous on the surface but deep down, it is distracting the governor and his concentration on governance because both Hamzat and Obasa are deep in Lagos local politics.
But the battle for the control of Alimosho, which has the highest number of electorates in the state, has also pitched many groups against themselves. To prevent the crisis from festering into open confrontation, Ojelabi was said to have invited Asiwaju Solidarity Movement (ASM) and the BATCO Movement to a reconciliatory meeting but allegedly, excluded the leadership of The Mandate Movement (TMM).
The exclusion of TMM leaders sparked outrage among members of the caucus, who protested at the state party secretariat, demanding recognition and inclusion of their leaders in the meeting.
Ojelabi’s response to the protest was considered confrontational by the aggrieved party members, and had allegedly led to a heated argument between him and the protesters.
A member of TTM, who pleaded anonymity told The Guardian that, “Our intention was to have him acknowledge and invite them our leaders to the meeting but Ojelabi was quick to cut us short by thoughtlessly said that he only summoned leaders of the other two factions, for the peace talk where he intended to urge them to put an end to the unending crisis in Alimosho.”
The APC Ward G Alimosho Publicity Secretary, Rasheed Rabiu, said that, “If Ojelabi was to be harshly treated as projected by the promoters of violence, I’m sure the chairman wouldn’t have left that place alive or would have landed in the hospital immediately after the incident. You don’t trample on people’s rights and expect them to fold their hands and watch.”
He added that members of the party are a lot wiser and more politically enlightened than they were some 20 years back, stressing that they have the right to demand their rights, as well as hold political officeholders accountable for failure in the discharge of their responsibilities. He regretted, however, that Ojelabi’s reaction was a disappointment to many.
“Upon seeing the protesters as he drove in, he stepped down and confronted them like one who had come to chastise some primary school kids for misdemeanour. Without fully listening to their agitation, he began with some fabricated stories of how he intended to disband caucuses within the party in Lagos.”
He urged the chairman to do a self-assessment on why caucuses are more popular than the party itself, saying if he had handled issues professionally, there would have been more noise in the party than internal caucuses.
“But today, all we hear are further expansion of The Mandate Movement, inauguration of Justice Forum, rebirth of BATCO Movement, the reorganisation of Asiwaju Solidarity Movement, and return of New Vision among others. And who knows which or what is next?”
However, the state’s party spokesman, Seye Oladejo, described the protesters as thugs, saying they infiltrated the meeting Ojelabi convened with the warring factions in Alimosho.
He said, “We appreciate the security agencies for promptly bringing the situation under control. The victory of the progressives in Lagos State since the inception of this dispensation has been due to life-changing policies by our responsive and responsible government and strict compliance with party discipline.
“Lagos State APC has a time-tested mechanism for settling disputes and will not hesitate to wield the big stick if need be. The sacrifices of the founding fathers of the party to engender democracy cannot be sacrificed on the altar of indiscipline and intolerance.
“We acknowledge protests as an integral part of democracy, but it has to be within acceptable norms without infringing on the rights of others.”
Meanwhile, in a letter dated July 1 and signed by the state secretary of the party, M. A. Jokomba, it was directed that a fact-finding committee be established to investigate members involved in what was described as ‘violent acts’ at the secretariat.
On the allegation by TMM group that their members were suspended, Oladejo described it as fake news, noting that the chairman remains committed to the unity of the party and acts that engender peaceful co-existence of all members.
“We wish to state unequivocally that there’s no truth in the allegation. APC as a political party made up of members with different aspirations, naturally has its fair share of wrangling and suspicions that can always be resolved within the framework of its constitutional provisions.”
Oladejo said the position of the state chairman remains that the interests of caucuses should not override that of the party, adding that no provision in the party’s constitution can be invoked for the chairman to unilaterally suspend a member. He urged members of the public to ignore statements that are designed to create an imaginary conflict and deliberate falsehood in the party
Speaking on the suspension of some members, Secretary of the TMM media team in Alimosho, Samson Okeowo told The Guardian that the directive from Jokomba explicitly conveyed the approval of the chairman for the formation of committees to investigate and take disciplinary actions based on their findings.
“This raises the question if the chairman did not authorise or endorse the suspension, why did he instruct the formation of these committees with such powers?
“Additionally, it is important to note that Ojelabi works closely with Southwest Organising Secretary Hon. Lateef Ibirogba, and Lagos West Leader Hon. Babatunde Aboyade, both of whom are from Alimosho and members of the Orelope-led ASM. Given their positions and proximity, it is implausible that Ojelabi was unaware of the ongoing crisis in Alimosho before and after the protest unless he intends to tell the world that these persons are mere figureheads who are inactive occupants of those offices”, he argued.
Okeowo noted that Ojelabi’s failure to address the issue in the party further suggests a deliberate decision to overlook complaints of members, thus enabling the current actions against party members.
Speaking to The Guardian, a member of TMM said, “Under Ojelabi’s watch, the party is gradually going down the drain, and this is not limited to just Alimosho. After threatening to disband caucuses, Ojelabi didn’t mince words to tell his audience how he didn’t regard them, their cause or even their leaders. Before their very eyes, he told them that they were not recognised and that he only recognised ASM and BATCO.
“Was ASM at war with BATCO, or the other way round? Warring people don’t dine together. During the recent Salah festivals, rumours filtered about how both groups exchanged Salah packages that were supposed to be meant for the entire members of the party in the constituency. They kept it within both groups.
“There was nothing to settle between both camps but perhaps, he meant to further cement the relationship between both groups.
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