The Iyaloja General of Nigeria, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, has protested the recently concluded All Progressives Congress primaries, specifically alleging that aspirants were short-changed despite winning.
According to the Iyaloja, the recognition of subgroups within the Lagos APC was the reason behind the manipulation which she claims currently favours members of the Justice Forum.
Lagos APC is split between the Justice Forum and Mandate Forum. According to the Iyaloja, because the governorship candidate of the APC, Obafemi Hamzat, is a member of the Justice Forum, those in the Mandate Forum.are being short-changed.
She specifically faulted the conduct of the House of Representatives primary for Mushin Constituency I, Agege Constituency II, Ojokoro, alleging that victories of aspirants in the constituencies were stolen and handed to “a non-winner.”
Speaking during the weekly meeting of market leaders and stakeholders at the Iyaloja-General’s office in Alausa, Ikeja, she condemned what she described as political shenanigans and warned against attempts to subvert the will of party members. She also decried the alleged marginalisation of traders by political office holders despite their contributions to the growth and electoral success of the APC in Lagos State.
The Iyaloja General cited the cases of Mutiu Olaide Oladeebo in Agege Constituency II, Seye Oladejo in Mushin Federal Constituency, and Olotu Emmanuel Ojo in Ojokoro, insisting that the aspirants won their respective primaries convincingly before moves were allegedly made to alter the outcomes.
She said: “We have to cry out now, Let the APC cancel Justice and Mandate Forums because our governorship candidate belongs to the Justice Forum. Everybody is now joining the Justice Forum because that is where our incoming governor belongs to. Are we not Lagosians?
“When he becomes the governor, he will not be the governor for APC alone, he has to balance it. Even when you are the governor, you have to lead both your friends and foes. It is saddening that when a Mandate Forum aspirant wins, he jumps to Justice Forum, it is saddening. It is a way of telling us that hard work doesn’t pay in politics.
“Something must be done on that because it is important. We are sure that Seye Oladejo won in Mushin Federal Constituency and Olotu Emmanuel Ojo in Ojokoro won in Ojoroko with a landslide.
“In fact, we decided to calm down and see what they will do about it because we are ready to protest. We know they won the election and their mandate should not be given to somebody else.”
She urged APC leaders at the state and national levels to immediately investigate the disputed primaries and ensure that justice prevailed before final ratification of the results.
She warned that failure to address the grievances could worsen internal tensions within the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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