By The clustered primaries for All Progressives Congress, APC local government chairmanship aspirants ended in fiasco yesterday following an attempt to include a candidate, Mrs Omolola Essein, purportedly preferred candidate of wife of the national leader of APC, Senator Oluremi Tinubu as a consensus candidate for Mainland Local Government.
Recall that the leadership of the party had conceded automatic tickets to 18 former local council chairmen who previously served for one-term. The 18 anointed aspirants were adopted as standard bearers of the party for their respective council areas through voice votes during the clustered primaries yesterday at Teslim Balogun Stadium.
The consensus candidates are; Hon Tajudeen Ajide (Surulere LGA), Hon Akinyemi Obe (Coker Aguda LCDA), Mr Shuaibu Fatai, (Ifelodun LCDA) ,Mrs Ramota Oseni (Iba LCDA), Hon Oloruntoba Oke (Ifako Ijaye LGA ), Mr Tunde Oke (Onigbongbo LCDA), Hon Julius Oloro (Ojodu LCDA), Mr Shakiru Yusuf (Ayobo Ipaja LCDA),
Others include; Mr Adeoye Arogun (Agbado Oke Odo LCDA), Mrs Adesina Williams (Igando Ikotun LCDA), Hon Sola Adekunle (Alimosho LGA), Hon Bolaji Ariyo (Oshodi Isolo LGA), Hon Olaleye Shamsideen (Isolo LCDA),
Mr Semi Olorunkemi (Ibeju Lekki LGA), Mr Olaitan Ogidan (Lekki LCDA), Mr Fatai Oyesanya (Ikosi-Isheri LCDA), Hon Femi Durosinmi(Agboyi-Ketu LCDA), Hon Tunde Sofola, (Kosofe LGA).
After the ratification of the 18 aspirants as candidates, delegates and aspirants were warming up for proper primaries to elect candidates for the remaining 39 local councils areas when the chairman of the electoral committee, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi announced Mrs Omolola Essein as candidate for Mainland Local Government, a local government that was not part of the earlier 18 affected councils.
It was gathered that this development led to mild protests from affected aspirants and their supporters which later snowballed into a full blown violence. Afikuyomi who was accused of partiality and subverting the will of party delegates was reportedly stripped naked by angry party members and was reportedly stabbed.
It was gathered that apart from Essein who had been penciled down as candidate for Mainland Local Government, one Omiyale, a civil servant in Lagos State Ministry of Education was also billed to clinch Yaba LCDA ticket.
An insider source revealed that, “Sensing that the party leaders had already prepared list of preferred, anointed candidates which would be imposed at the congress ground, other aspirants and their supporters joined the ensued commotion chanting, ‘A ma dibo’, meaning, ‘We must votes’.
“The aspirants knew that the same attempted Mainland charade will be extended to other LGAs and LCDAs. Hence, they abruptly ended everything in fiasco before their fate was sealed by party hierarchy.
The source continued, “You know they (leaders) were obviously up to something mischievous when they directed in the guidelines published last Thursday in The Nation newspaper that delegates should not come into the voting venue with mobile phones.
“They even said regardless of outcomes, the decision of the State Working Committee was the final. So, everyone was at alert to beat them to their game and tricks”.
Meanwhile, a member of the Federal House of Representatives in Mainland, who is very close to the Senator representing Lagos Central, Senator Oluremi Tinubu was said to be in charge of the Mainland LGA and Yaba LCDA special projects.
The Federal lawmaker, who is also a former chairman of Yaba LCDA, through his Mainland Boys group, had allegedly perfected plans to smuggle in Essein who served as Executive Secretary of Ikeja Local Government during the era of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, she also served as vice-chairman of Mainland LGA until she was appointed as Executive Secretary of the same local government by former governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN in 2014, a position she occupied till June, 2016.
Source: Complete News Ng
