Several members of the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress are set to stage a mega protest today (Tuesday) at the party’s secretariat on ACME Road, Ikeja, as well as in the Somolu area of Lagos.
This comes as the party’s Appeal Committee has set today as the deadline for aggrieved aspirants seeking local government chairmanship seats to submit their appeals.
The committee, led by the Attorney General of Lagos State and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN), was established after a series of protests — both online and offline — followed the APC’s primaries held on Saturday.
On Saturday, the APC conducted primaries at its Ikeja headquarters to select candidates for the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas for the upcoming July 12 local government elections.
However, internal disputes have persisted, with some party members rejecting the adoption of a consensus method for candidate selection.
Notably, the Lagos Mainland LGA and Yaba LCDA failed to produce candidates during the primaries, with protesters from these areas taking their grievances to the Ebute Meta area on the day of the primaries to voice opposition to the consensus candidates.
Despite this, the primaries successfully produced 55 candidates through a combination of consensus and delegate voting.
Nevertheless, protests have continued in some local councils, with aggrieved APC members criticising the entire primary process.
Following the uproar, the APC spokesperson, Oluseye Oladejo, issued a statement on Monday, declaring that the party had “inaugurated an Appeal Committee to address the complaints of dissatisfied aspirants who participated in the primaries.”
Oladejo stated, “The committee is made up of Mr. Lawal Pedro, SAN, who is also the Attorney-General and Honorable Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, and Otunba Abiodun Olufowobi as Secretary. Other members include Rt. Hon. Jokotola Pelumi, a former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly; former House member and state secretary of the party, Hon. Lanre Ogunyemi; and Chief Chukwudi Adiukwu.”
He added, “We, hereby, advise discontented aspirants to submit their appeals to the committee not later than 12 pm on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.”
A source within the party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, on Monday said that plans were already underway for a large protest by aggrieved aspirants from the affected councils.
“They will be protesting at the APC secretariat tomorrow (today) again, but with a larger crowd this time,” the source, close to the organisers, confirmed.
Another APC member from Somolu, who wished to remain anonymous, sent an invitation to The PUNCH, saying, “There is going to be a huge protest tomorrow (today) in Somolu.”
Some party leaders and stakeholders from Yaba LCDA have also alleged the imposition of a chairmanship candidate for the upcoming local government elections.
Earlier on Monday, APC faithful from Bariga and Somolu voiced their dissatisfaction with the conduct of the primaries. Speaking as Concerned Stakeholders, they demanded the cancellation of the exercise and called for the intervention of President Bola Tinubu.
In their statement, the protesting members claimed that the primaries were “skewed to achieve a pre-determined outcome.”
The statement, signed by Aisha Lawal and David Balogun on behalf of others, read in part, “We demand that the National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the National Working Committee, and the Lagos State APC leadership immediately investigate this travesty and cancel the compromised elections in Somolu Local Government and Bariga LCDA.”
Another APC member, who spoke to The PUNCH on the condition of anonymity, revealed that the aspirants would protest “to let Tinubu and others know that no consensus candidates have emerged in Lagos Mainland LGA and Yaba LCDA.”
The source further explained in a chat, “Some leaders just select and decide who will be the candidates. No election was conducted, and the other aspirants were never invited for any meeting. They are completely sidelined while the ‘baba sopes’ make the decision.”
“They asked other aspirants to withdraw, but they refused. They are insisting on an indirect election, as done in other areas where there was no consensus,” the source added.
Another group, the Ebony Campaign Team, alleged that the conducted primary election for the Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA at the APC secretariat was “a display of electoral malpractices of the highest order.”
The group described the process as “disgraceful, shameful, unprecedented, and a brazen attempt to impose an unpopular aspirant on our people.”
They further argued that declaring Hon. Idowu Daramola (Ebony) as having scored zero in the primaries was “not only laughable and a reversal of the truth, but it is totally unacceptable.”
In a statement issued by the spokesperson for the team, Morufdeen Bello, the group said, “This disgraceful and shameful display of repeated desperation must stop in Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA.”
The statement continued, “When will our people have a government of their own? When will this imposition and illegality stop in Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA?”
The group appealed to Tinubu, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the leaders of the Governor’s Advisory Council to address the concerns raised.
Credit: Punch