Kemi Nelson, Okoya-Thomas’ Fight Gets Messier
Why do Chief (Mrs) Kemi Nelson and Hon. Jumoke Okoya-Thomas not see eye to eye anymore? What really is the cause of the alleged enmity between the two Lagos female politicians? When will they sheathe their swords and embrace peace?
These are some of the questions begging for answers.
It all started like a murmur about two months ago. But the discordant tune of war has now taken a dangerous twist and has even turned messier, in spite of the initial denial by the two prominent politicians in the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
It was gathered that Okoya-Thomas, a former member of the House of Representatives, had allegedly fanned the ember of war, when she plotted a “coup” against Nelson, a former Commissioner for Women Affairs under a former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed.
Not yet stated, Okoya-Thomas was said to have organised a party, where she mocked Nelson and announced her new position as the women leader of the state’s chapter of the ruling APC, a position previously held by Nelson.
By this, the battle line had been drawn between the camps of both women.
However, to the chagrin of OkoyaThomas, her perceived rival, Nelson, was later elevated as the South-west zone leader during the APC national convention held on Saturday, June 23, 2018 in Abuja.
Consequently, Okoya-Thomas was said to have petitioned the zonal body ‘to reconsider its decision”.
In the face of the crisis, a source revealed that a former senator from Lagos State, Tokunbo Afikuyomi, waded into the matter for an amicable settlement.
But it appears the desired truce may not be achieved so soon, as things came to a head recently when gun-wielding hoodlums suspected to be working for Okoya-Thomas allegedly attacked Nelson at the APC Secretariat in Lagos on Monday, August 27.
Though the real cause of the attack was not immediately known, Society Watch gathered that Okoya-Thomas, who was supported by her personal assistant simply identified as Biodun, allegely supervised the assault on Nelson.
“Chief (Mrs.) Kemi Nelson’s office was vandalized, with several personal effects and other valuables like mobile phones, television sets, chairs, tables and computers either destroyed or stolen,” a source said.
The South-west APC Women Leader, who was apparently the main target of the attack, miraculously escaped death, as the hoodlums suspected to be members of a Lagosbased cult group, Scorpion, fired several shots in different directions during the attack.
It was also gathered that Nelson’s chief security detail, popularly known as Oslo, sustained severe machete cuts, while her personal assistant, Ayo AlliBalogun and other aides, were equally attacked.
Ever since becoming the Lagos Women Leader a few months ago, Okoya-Thomas has allegedly engaged her predecessor in an unwarranted battle of supremacy, while also attacking the person of Tinubu.