Stirring the Hornet’s Nest in Lagos APC

Segun James reveals increasing signs that things are not what they used to be in the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress

By the time you are reading this, the much anticipated All Progressives Congress (APC) ward congresses nationwide would have taken place. This is despite the Supreme Court’s ruling on the status of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party.

The National Secretary of the (CECPC), Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe, in a statement said that the ward Congress Committees of the party has already been inaugurated and delegated with the responsibility of conducting, supervising and monitoring the scheduled Ward Congresses are ready, hence the exercise would go on as scheduled.

He said the clarification is against the backdrop of personal opinions being expressed by some individuals on the status of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) and its capacity to conduct the Congresses.

“While it is not our intention to join issues with these commentators, the Supreme Court’s Wednesday judgement affirming the Election victory of the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) had no bearing on the CECPC’s status and its membership. “Party members and aspirants should therefore come out en masse and peacefully to participate in the ward Congresses, come Saturday”, he added.

But in Lagos, a short but strikingly powerful phrase – “in the party’s interest, Lagos will adopt consensus candidate” underpinned the announcement by the powerful Governor’s Advisory Council, (GAC) the highest decision-making body of the Lagos state APC on the ward congress. In the political cycle, it meant there would no more comment.

There are only two Nigerians for whom Lagos residents, great and small would turn up on time; one is whoever is the sitting president of the country, and the other is Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This is because Tinubu is the de facto political leader of the state and he controls absolutely the only economic self-reliant state in the federation. In the political firmament of Lagos, Tinubu is the lone Iroko tree that makes a forest.

Today, the national leader of the party has an ambition. He wants to be the next president of the country. But this ambition is facing a big challenge from within the party in Lagos.

When barely two hours after the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) gave the Certificate of Return to newly elected local government councils chairmen, they were sworn in by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The action raised eyebrows. The state government did not give room for protests, litigation and issues that might have arisen from the election.

To many, this was a pointer to things to come. One of which was that it is an attempt to ward off opposition within the party that was growing rapidly against the status quo; and the other is that the party’s ward congresses were scheduled for the following week and the elected chairmen and councillors are expected to play a prominent role as delegates and leaders.

With the decision of the GAC which is chaired by Tinubu, the leader has once again stamped his authority on the political landscape of the state
Lagos APC political situation is difficult. The problem is the alleged overriding influence of Tinubu and his supposed style of imposition of candidates from ward level up in the bid to have complete control over the polity. This is where the opposition within the Lagos APC led by Fouad Oki comes in.

In anticipation of the proposal by the state party leadership, Oki, a former factional chairman of the party in the state, in a letter to the chairman of the Convention Committee warned that the consensus candidacy being proposed by some interests in the party, including the chairman of the state’s caretaker committee would only aggravate the crisis in the party.

According to Oki, “Mr. Chairman, the Caretaker Committee in Lagos State is carrying out its assignment in flagrant disregard to the law and extant regulations. The State Caretaker Committee is not in compliance of the law by its continued act of impunity and refusal to recognize the diversity and tendencies in the Party in Lagos State.”

Oki insisted that “the majority of our Party members in Lagos State are aggrieved (justifiably so) with the attitude of the National Body in ensuring the enthronement of illegality, unconstitutionality and impunity as regards Lagos State. But we keep faith with the Party, particularly your Committee, the CECPC hence our support for all your programmes and activities.

“However, our trust and believe in your impartiality would further be strengthened if you look into this issue and swiftly make corrections before the Party commences the Congress exercise.”

Oki who was the factional chairman of the party in the state until he was persuaded to withdraw his case against the party and allow the party’s machinery to settle the matter said that “there are no truer words than acknowledging that in Lagos State the Party is polarised and there are factions/tendencies and therefore may be sitting on a keg of gunpowder if the right thing is not done urgently. Based on the foregoing and events of the last six weeks regarding the Local Government election and the consensus charade, it has become very clear, that participating in any consensus in Lagos State will further exacerbate the already very tense and charged political environment in Lagos State.

“The Timetable, Guidelines for Ward Congresses, Grants Waivers released by Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the Party, which state inter alia that, ‘in a bid to ensure open, credible and fair congresses that reflect the sanctity of internal democracy in the Party, issues a guiding regulation for the nationwide congresses of the Party. It is binding on all persons coordinating and participating in all Congresses.’

“As things are, there cannot be the conduct of any consensus process in Lagos for Ward Congresses, hence our resolve to inform you that in Lagos State, without prejudice, the overwhelming majority of our Party members have opted for an elective Congress on Saturday 31st July 2021 or any date that Ward Congresses is organized. Our resolve is hinged on article 20 (a)(iv)(a)(d) of the Party Constitution.”

He warned that there is a looming danger on continuing refusal of the party to do the right thing concerning the composition of the local ward congress committees in the state.

“Pursuant to our various efforts at getting the National Secretariat of our great Party to investigate the travesty of justice being perpetrated against our members in Lagos State since 2018, we hereby again draw your attention to another possible travesty that may occur during the forth-coming Ward Congresses.

“It recently came to our attention that, the State Caretaker Committee led by Alhaji Tunde Balogun has started with a compilation of a list of members of the Party that will be appointed as Ward Congress Committee members for the various Wards Congresses in the State on Saturday 31st July 2021.”

“This letter seeks to bring it to your attention that should the National Secretariat acquiesce to this charade by the Alhaji Tunde Balogun Caretaker Committee, the conduct of Congresses in Lagos State will be another exercise in futility, I find it quite pertinent to bring to the attention of the National Secretariat Committee the fruitlessness of any Congress that the Party may organise in Lagos State with the proposed skewed and lopsidedness list of members of the Local Ward Congress Committee (LWCC) which will end in a pre-determined destination as was recently done with the Local Government Primary Election on 29th May 2021.

“This would, therefore, render any purported Congress a nullity and an exercise in futility. The implication of this is that delegates will be selected from the 57 Local Government Areas (used for the Ward and Local Government Area Congresses) to constitute the State Congress.”

But this was ignored by the party in the state as the next day, the Governor’s Advisory Council declared that the party will adopt a consensus arrangement for its ward congresses.

The GAC, which comprised prominent leaders of Lagos APC across the State, said it has directed party officers at all levels to engage in dialogue that would lead to meaningful reconciliation of those who are in disagreements to accommodate members that are willing to serve the party.

Speaking to journalists on behalf of the GAC after the council’s meeting held at Lagos House, Marina, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, said the GAC has directed all leaders and party officers to dialogue in the spirit of brotherhood to decide those who are going to lead the party after congresses.

He said: “We deliberated on the incoming state congresses of our party and later the national convention. We have resolved and directed officers of our party at all levels to engage in dialogue that would lead to meaningful reconciliation of aggrieved members within the party in other to ensure that all opinions are accommodated and all members who are willing to serve the party are given positions in the various executive bodies at the ward, local and state levels.

“This we have done, and we are sure all officers of our party will follow the consensus decision that we have taken to ensure that all willing members of the party who want to serve are considered.

“We have also directed that they should hold stakeholder meetings at all local government levels where leaders and officers will sit down, talk together in the spirit of brotherhood and decide who will lead the party after the congresses.”

The GAC also appreciated Lagosians for reposing confidence in the APC. “We have reviewed events in the party, and particularly we have also received results of the last local government elections. We thank the press, members of the public, particularly the voters of Lagos State for reposing their confidence in our party as they have always done. We are grateful for this,” he said.

Also speaking, Lagos APC Chairman of Caretaker Committee, Alhaji Tunde Balogun said the party ward executives would emerge through consensus on Saturday, adding that APC would hold stakeholders’ meetings in all the local governments in the State on Thursday.

He said: “Next Saturday, we are having a ward congress which will lead to the formation of our party officials. We are having our stakeholders meeting tomorrow (Thursday) and there, we will decide on what to do. The stakeholders’ meeting is taking place in all the 20 local governments in Lagos State; all local governments will hold the meeting.

“We are engaging a lot of stakeholders and we are going to do the ward congress on consensus.

A consensus arrangement has been adopted by the party. We will be doing that for Lagos State. We have decided to adopt the consensus arrangements, which is constitutional. It is part of the provision of our party.”

The GAC meeting was attended by Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; former deputy governors, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye and Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule; Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Mudashiru Obasa, former Secretary to Lagos State Government, Otunba Olorunfunmi Bashorun; Senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Senator Tokunbo Abiru, Prince Olusi and Balogun.

But for the opposition Lagos4Lagos group, the congress should be elective instead of consensual. To them, the party members should be allowed to freely chose their delegates instead of imposition which has always been the hallmark of the party in the state.
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Lagos 4Lagos leader, Mr. Olajide Adediran at a stakeholders’ meeting ahead of the congress held at the Lagos Airport Hotel, said the process for the ward congress has been hijacked to favour certain interests.

He described as laughable and not feasible a situation where leaders are imposed on party members; querying how to ward congresses can hold in 245 wards across the state without a delegate list and people to conduct it.

Olajide said, “We have our intending members for the ward congress and our members paid for the forms but as we speak, we did not get any forms. We have our tellers as evidence. We know what they are doing, they want the status quo to remain.

“We will go ahead with our congress because we have paid into the coffers of the party. At the end of the exercise, we will submit our list. They only invited us to the stakeholders meeting because they know we are a force to be reckoned with,” he added.

In his reaction, APC spokesman, Seye Oladejo said “Perhaps they need some political education here. There’s an ad hoc committee set up deployed to all the states of the federation by the National Caretaker Committee to conduct the ward congress. I think it’s uncharitable to drag the state governor into needless politics and distractions. It’s just a poorly thought allegation from a group that will soon be history.”

The controversy that besets Lagos politics today extends beyond most basic political activities; it has to do with the supposed continued political dominance of Tinubu. Oki and Adediran continue to pus a new narrative that desires relevance for the idea for a great shift in a political system that has been entrenched in Lagos State the last 21 years.

QUOTE

In Lagos, a short but strikingly powerful phrase – “in the party’s interest, Lagos will adopt consensus candidate” underpinned the announcement by the powerful Governor’s Advisory Council, (GAC) the highest decision-making body of the Lagos state APC on the ward congress. In the political cycle, it meant there would no more comment