How Lagos LG primaries tore APC, PDP aspirants apart
For almost two years, stakeholders across party lines eagerly awaited the local government polls in Lagos State. But with a July 22 date announced for the election, the processes of selecting/electing candidates have been mired in controversies, protests and dramas for major political parties. stakeholders’ meeting, the primaries are a lot of grievances, many people the list and trying to resolve the took place at Teslim Balogun are aggrieved and that is why the grievances emanating from the Stadium amidst tight security. party has not been able to submit election. It was however learnt that
However, the watertight any name to LASIEC”. the delay in publicizing the list was security arrangement did not deter Senator Afikuyomi defended to prevent the aggrieved aspirants stakeholders from venting their the processes employed to pick from defecting to another party to grievances as the primaries ended the party’s chairmanship and realize their ambition. in violence. councillorship candidates across “But that will surely happen even
Chairman of the APC the 20 Local Government Councils, if we had the best primaries not to Elections Committee, Senator 37 Local Council Development talk of when there was virtually no Tokunbo Afikuyomi, was attacked Areas and 377 wards. primary. Already, we have been and almost stripped by angry He said in line with the party’s receiving information that some supporters as scores of delegates constitution, a combination of have started cross-carpeting to and others present at the venue fled direct and indirect primaries, the other parties”, said an aspirant who in different directions as a result of consensus option were employed pleaded not to be named. the pandemonium, even as scores of in picking the candidates, saying the However, just like the APC, the people were injured. disagreements trailing the exercise opposition Peoples Democratic
It was learnt that the crisis were normal. Party (PDP), which would have followed an attempt by the He said, “In its wisdom, the provided a credible alternative, committee to elect candidates APC leadership in Lagos opted for has also been racked by internal through a consensus arrangement a combination of primaries and the squabbles leading to two factions as agreed upon by the party. consensus option in compliance - one loyal to Senator Ali Modu
A source privy to the with the provisions of Articles 20 Sheriff, the court recognized developments said, “Asiwaju never (ii)a, (iii)a and 21(xi) of the APC national chairman of the party hid his preference for consensus Constitution. and the other accountable to the and what he told party leaders and “That was done to ensure the National Caretaker Committee stakeholders in the other councils emergence of real grassroots leaders Chairman, Senator Ahmed was that they should all go back to and knowledgeable party men and Makarfi- presenting candidates for their respective LGs and agree on women who can positively impact the election. consensus candidates. the lives of the people at the local At the end of the day,
“But most of these leaders also level, who can make the muchneeded LASIEC, apparently in defiance differed among themselves and they difference in governance to the extant court ruling which couldn’t come up with consensus and deliver dividends of democracy recognized Sheriff, accepted the candidates and that is where the to our people. list of candidates submitted by his problem emanated from,” he said. “The process had started from faction chaired by Segun Adewale
Two days after the chairmanship the stakeholders’ meeting where popularly known as Aero Land. primaries which ended in violence, the decision on the modality for the The developments have caused it was followed by the councillorship election and other decisions were confusion within the party and election which was peaceful in some taken and ratified. However, this stymied its capacity to confront the areas but marred by violence in is not to say the exercise has been APC in the forthcoming election, other councils, especially in Oshodi without hitches. These are normal according to observers. axis, where a transport union leader, with any democratic arrangement. With the recognition of Sheriff ’s Alhaji Rasaq Bello, popularly No system is devoid of its problems faction by LASIEC, members of the known as Hamburger, was killed. and challenges. other faction, which purportedly
Up till date, the list of APC “Disputes and disagreements has the majority, have been left with candidates is yet to be submitted are necessary fallouts of democratic the option of defecting to any party to the Lagos State Independent processes. No system is infallible. In they deem fit. Electoral Commission (LASIEC), the extant case, in a few areas where Speaking with our even though some names have there have been disagreements correspondent, Adewale said the been flying on the social media as arising from the process, these have acceptance of his list of candidates the candidates for the council polls. been resolved through the conflictresolution had put paid to the insinuations
One of the aspirants in Ikeja, mechanism we put in about who is the authentic chairman said, “As I am talking to you, we place”. of PDP in Lagos. He said the party don’t know the candidates but When contacted, the APC under his leadership is working definitely the party will soon release spokesman, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, said hard to win some local governments their names but my brother there the party was still working on in the forthcoming election even
When the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader and the godfather of Lagos politics, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, announced during a stakeholders’ meeting of the party that 18 aspirants would be granted automatic tickets ahead of the party’s primaries, the backlash was predictable.
At the meeting of May 10 attended by the Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, members of the National and state assemblies, and other political office holders, Tinubu told party members that the decision must be respected, not minding the raucous mumbling which trailed the pronouncement.
It was a pronouncement which dampened the spirit of many of the aspirants, majority of whom have worked so hard for more than a year, strategizing and canvassing for support from party members ahead of the primary, which they had no inkling was going to be truncated.
Tinubu had justified the party’s decision to grant the aspirants automatic tickets, saying it was meant to reward their loyalty and hard work during the 2015 election. The decision did not only jolt aspirants from the affected councils, it was also a pointer to the impending acrimony that would trail the primaries across the 20 local governments and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs) of the state.
“Immediately after the meeting, it was clear that any primary election to be held by the APC would be a mere formality and some of us who have interest in becoming chairmen have been by that statement shut out”, said an aspirant, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity.
Just two weeks after the though the time is very short. It was, however, learnt that some of the aspirants loyal to Makarfi may have concluded on defecting to Accord Party to realize their ambition. The chairman of the Makarfi faction, Hon. Mashood Salvador, said he would soon make comments about the current development.
The local government election which would have been the first test of strength between the APC and the PDP after the 2015 election, according to analysts, may have been decided in favour of the ruling party, owing to absence of strong opposition. This, they say, explains the struggle by over 2,500 APC aspirants to clinch the party’s tickets.
A political analyst, Comrade Demola Olanrewaju, said the protests and violence that trailed the APC primaries were antithetical to democracy.
He said, “It is a very sad development for democracy, a sad commentary about the APC in Lagos. It shows their dictatorial tendencies. It has also exposed APC involvement in violent activities in Lagos, because it is the APC primary that led to the death of one or two people in Oshodi which made the governor to eventually ban union activities in Oshodi.
“Aspirants who have been disenfranchised and not allowed to fulfill their ambitions might want to defect but unfortunately as far as Lagos State is concerned even my own party, the PDP has not shown the requisite sign of being able to challenge the APC. What is happening in APC is a sign of what happens when you have a one-party state.”
Analysts maintain that the outcome of the APC primaries exposed the lack of internal democracy among the parties which in the long run, may impact negatively on the main election. Will there be a free, fair and transparent election on July 22? Only time will tell as clouds thicken over party primaries.