Crisis is brewing within the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress ahead of the July 12 local government elections, as many chairmanship aspirants and party leaders have kicked against what they described as a plot to impose candidates.

The aggrieved members and leaders, drawn from various local government areas and local council development areas, accused key figures within the party of attempting to sideline grassroots democracy by handpicking candidates rather than allowing a level playing field.

The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission had, in April, released the timetable and guidelines for the commencement of the electoral process for the 57 council chairmanship seats and 376 councillorship positions spread across the state’s 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs.

The announcement came as the tenure of the current local council officials is set to end in July.

The PUNCH reported that the party pushed for the adoption of consensus in selecting candidates for the party’s council primaries, scheduled for Saturday (today).

Following the party’s decision, Saturday PUNCH gathered that party leaders in various LGAs set up internal committees to screen aspirants and streamline those to be adopted as consensus candidates.

However, the move has sparked outrage among some aspirants and party members, who allege that the process was being used to impose preferred candidates rather than allowing for fair competition.

The situation is said to have led to protests in some local councils, with party members alleging subversion of the democratic process.

In Ojokoro LCDA, a group of party leaders, under the auspices of Ojokoro Apex Council, reportedly screened three chairmanship aspirants, out of which one Mobolaji Sanusi, emerged as the consensus candidate.

Sanusi’s emergence was announced in a letter signed by former members of the House of Representatives, Ipoola Omisore and Adisa Owolabi, and addressed to the state APC chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi.

Attached to the letter was the signature page of the consensus resolution, showing the names of the party leaders and their signatures.

The signatories included the incumbent chairman of the LCDA, Idowu Tijani.

However, trouble started a few days later when one Rosiji Yemisi emerged as a chairmanship candidate from another screening conducted by a different group of party leaders.

A member of the group, who spoke with one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, accused the apex council of attempting to impose a “foreigner backed by the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudasiru Obasa”, on them as their chairmanship candidate.

He warned that imposing an outsider with no electoral history in Ojokoro would have negative consequences.

Protests also erupted in Yaba LCDA over an alleged plot to impose one Babatunde Ojo as the chairmanship candidate of the party.

A coalition of concerned landlords, electorates, and political stakeholders in the LCDA raised the alarm over a plot to replace the name of the aspirant who emerged top during the screening exercise with that of Ojo.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that another aspirant, William Babatunde, scored 85 per cent to emerge top while Ojo polled 65 per cent and came 11th out of the 14 aspirants screened.

The coalition, led by Amoo Ismail, petitioned the First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, urging her and the President to intervene and prevent what they described as a repeat of past political imposition that hindered development in the area.

“It is important to emphasise that we have credible leaders within our community who are capable of selecting the most qualified candidate from the broad pool of aspirants. It is simply unjust and disheartening to the political stakeholders in the local government that a single individual continues to unilaterally impose a chairmanship candidate upon us.

“In light of this, we humbly implore Your Excellency, and His Excellency the President, to kindly intervene and consider alternative options that will better serve the interests of our community.

“A more inclusive and consultative approach, one that values the voices of grassroots mobilisers and other key stakeholders, will likely yield a more favourable outcome for both the local government and our great party,” the coalition said.

An aide to one of the aspirants, who spoke on condition of anonymity, accused the party leaders in the LCDA of using the name of President Bola Tinubu to justify the imposition of candidates.

“They are going around telling us that the President has given the directive on who should emerge. This is false and disrespectful to the President, who is known to support internal democracy,” he said.

Lamenting the adoption of the consensus method, Opeyemi Ahmed, the media aide to the outgoing Chairman of Agboyi-Ketu LCDA, Dele Osinowo, accused some party leaders of imposition by single-handedly picking their preferred candidates.

Ahmed, in a now-deleted post on Facebook, said the situation, if not checked, might cost Tinubu his re-election bid.

“The party is not sincere with its guidelines; from direct to indirect to consensus. We can do better. Let’s give a sense of belonging to everyone. Tinubu needs to win Lagos, but if a few are writing names at the top and using fake strategy to call for consensus at the bottom, then Tinubu should be ready to lose come 2027,” Ahmed said.

Speaking on the issue, a chieftain of the party, Fouad Oki, issued a stern warning to party leaders, urging them to embrace internal democracy or risk electoral backlash.

He issued the warning in an open letter titled, “Lagos APC’s crisis of Democracy: Internal strife and the risk to President Tinubu’s stronghold”.

“The Lagos APC must choose democracy over cliques. If party managers still believe they know better than voters, permit me to remind you of the stakes: disenfranchised grassroots can sabotage not only council polls, but also general elections to come. Unity forged under injustice is brittle; lasting strength requires inclusivity,” he warned.

He added that the APC could either learn from previous political missteps and legal precedents in Lagos or repeat them and suffer the consequences.

“Let this op-ed be a rallying cry within the party: abandon the politics of imposition, honour the rights of members, and give Lagosians a real voice. Failing that, our party risks losing Lagos not to an opposition challenger, but to its own internal discord – a disaster that would echo all the way to 2027,” Oki concluded.

Reacting to the allegations, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Lagos, Seye Oladejo, dismissed claims of imposition, insisting that the party had not concluded its primary processes and that consensus remained a legitimate and constitutionally recognised mechanism.

He noted that consensus had always worked for the party and helped manage post-primary fallout.

Oladejo said, “We have not concluded the process of the primaries, which will be held on Saturday. For those who have been able to reach consensus, there will be affirmation, but for those who have not reached consensus, their delegates will decide who their preferred candidates will be in their respective local governments.

“If we have not concluded the process, nobody can allege imposition. Then, where there is consensus, their leaders will need to sign off to indicate that they all agreed on a particular candidate. And when an aspirant is not happy, he can insist on going to the primary and, if he wins, good luck.

“Nobody is imposing anything on anybody; we cherish internal democracy in our party, and we have always strived on all of this. So, you cannot allege an imposition, even when the process has not been completed.”

Speaking on the reason for the party adopting consensus, he said, “As a party, we see ourselves as members of the same family. Consensus has always been easier to manage, whatever fallout might arise from the process of electing candidates for elections. So, consensus, over time, has worked for us and is recognised by our constitution.

“We have an internal mechanism for resolving conflicts or disagreements, and that machinery will be ignited to resolve whatever grey areas arise as a fallout of the primaries. I can assure you that we will take care of it as we have always done.”

In a major political development likely to reshape Nigeria’s northern political landscape, three serving senators from Kebbi State have officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The high-profile defections follow a closed-door meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

This move is widely seen as a significant setback for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, whose enduring influence in the North faces renewed scrutiny. Analysts have described the development as a strategic victory for the APC, which is actively reinforcing its dominance in preparation for upcoming electoral contests.

The senators who abandoned the PDP are:
Senator Adamu Aliero – Representing Kebbi Central
Senator Yahaya Abubakar Abdullahi – Representing Kebbi North
Senator Garba Musa Maidoki – Representing Kebbi South

They were formally welcomed into the APC by the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, during a ceremony that highlighted the significance of their departure from the opposition.

The high-stakes meeting that precipitated the defections was attended by several northern political heavyweights, including:

Dr. Nasir Idris, Governor of Kebbi State
Ahmad Aliyu, Governor of Sokoto State
Senator Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning

The presence of these key figures underscores the coordinated nature of the realignment and its implications for the power dynamics in Northern Nigeria.

Political observers have noted that this wave of defections is not an isolated event but part of a broader strategy to weaken the PDP’s base in the North. The loss of all three senators from Kebbi State not only reduces the party’s numerical strength in the National Assembly but also strikes a psychological blow at its northern structure.

“This isn’t just about Kebbi,” said Kaduna-based political analyst Musa Aliyu. “This is the disintegration of a once-solid northern bloc that consistently rallied behind Atiku Abubakar. It sends a message of vulnerability at a critical time.”

Atiku Abubakar, who has contested multiple presidential elections and remains one of the PDP’s most prominent figures, faces increased uncertainty regarding his political future. The defections cast doubt on his ability to rally the North as he has in previous election cycles, especially amid persistent leadership wrangling within the party.

The PDP’s diminishing influence in the Northwest geopolitical zone—a crucial battleground in national elections—could jeopardize its prospects unless urgent structural reforms and reconciliation efforts are made.

The APC continues to strengthen its grip on key regions and legislative bodies. With the addition of these three senators, the ruling party inches closer to achieving a more commanding majority in the Senate, which could smooth the passage of its policy agenda and legislative initiatives.

Furthermore, the defections are viewed as part of President Tinubu’s broader political strategy to stabilize his administration, reduce opposition resistance, and build a more cohesive governance platform heading into the midterm and 2027 general elections.

Friday’s events may be an early indicator of a broader political realignment in the North. With Atiku’s influence facing erosion and the PDP losing critical ground, the APC is positioning itself to dictate the narrative leading into the next electoral cycle.

Whether this shift will lead to a long-term transformation in voter loyalty and party structure remains to be seen. However, the significance of losing three sitting senators from a single state cannot be overstated.

The defection of Senators Aliero, Abdullahi, and Maidoki marks one of the most dramatic political shifts in the current democratic cycle. As Nigeria’s political terrain continues to evolve, the PDP must now contend with growing fragmentation in its northern base, while the APC capitalizes on its expanding reach and strategic positioning.

Pastor Funke Awolowo, late Obafemi Awolowo’s grand-daughter, has resigned her membership of the Labour Party Executive Committee in Lagos State.

Until her resignation, Awolowo was the party’s Head of Mobilisation and Integration Team in Lagos.

In a statement shared with Vanguard, the grandchild of the late sage said recent developments within the party made it increasingly difficult for her to continue her membership of the committee.

In the statement she signed and addressed to Dayo Ekong, Lagos State Chairman of the party, Awolowo said the integrity of the committee is being compromised, adding that the situation has damaged her reputation.

The statement read, “I am writing to formally resign my position as a member of the Lagos State Executive Committee, effective immediately.

“This decision comes after deep reflection and considerable personal introspection. Recent developments have made it increasingly difficult for me to continue in this role in good conscience.

“I have observed with growing concern that the integrity of the committee is being compromised and, regrettably, is being leveraged for purposes that conflict with the values and principles I hold dear.

“More troubling is the damage this has done to my personal reputation, as my name has been unfairly associated with actions and motives that I neither support nor condone.

“For years, I have served with sincerity and dedication, committed to the vision of impactful governance.

“However, when the purpose of service is blurred by personal interests and the space for integrity begins to shrink, it becomes necessary to step aside.”

Despite stepping away from her role, Awolowo maintained that her commitment to public service and the political process remains steadfast.

She said, “I believe in the promise of a better Nigeria and will continue to work toward that end in whatever capacity I am able. I remain grateful for the opportunity to have served and extend my thanks to all who made the experience worthwhile.”

Her resignation from her role in the Labour Party came four months after she appealed to all lovers of New Nigeria, Obidients, Afenifere, and Support Groups, to come together as a united force.