By Ghazali Ibrahim
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has confirmed plans to refund nomination fees paid by chairmanship aspirants who participated in the party’s 2025 local government primaries but were not selected as candidates.
In a video obtained by BlackBox Nigeria, Lagos APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, made the disclosure while addressing the concerns of the Lagos State 2025 Chairmanship Aspirants Conference, a coalition of aspirants who earlier appealed to the party leadership to fulfil its promise.
“We are a progressive party, and we value the dedication and loyalty of all our members,” Ojelabi said.
“Though there’s no money on ground because most expenses were incurred on party primaries and others but after speaking with our principal, he told us to refund the money. The refund of nomination fees is a commitment we intend to honour to maintain trust and unity in our party.”
During the primaries, aspirants were required to pay as much as N5.5 million in nomination and administrative fees.
However, the adoption of consensus candidates in several local government areas left many aspirants without tickets prompting calls for refunds.
A source privy to the discussion told BlackBox Nigeria that the money was raised through the governor and LG chairmen and the refund is meant for both aspirant of chairmanship and councillors position. Bank details had also been collected for easy reimbursement.
The development has been welcomed by many within the party, with some aspirants pledging renewed support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s leadership in the state.
The refund process is expected to begin in the coming weeks as promised by the chairman, with modalities to be announced by the party’s state secretariat.
