APC Primary Polls: Mixed Grill of Disruption, Stiff Contest Attended the Elections with Large Party Members Turn Out, As Disruptions Draw Olowoopejo, other Aspirants’ Victory to Inconclusive Election in Alimosho

Story by Toyo C. Ngem, Razaq A. Jimoh and Aina Abiola

The All Progressives Congress (APC) primary elections for the July Local Government Elections in Lagos State turned out to be a mixed of stiff competition and disruption across the state. This is going by the reports of our correspondents that went round to witness the elections across the state. In Alimosho Federal Constituency comprising of Alimosho LG and five local council development areas (LCDAs), it was a straight contest between the establishment and a new force within the Progressives fold which goes by the mantra identity of Otoge Alimosho, where both opposing sides mobilised to their respective venues of the primary elections. In Egbe-Idimu LCDA of the Alimosho, elections were disrupted in Ward A and Ward B, even as the incumbent Council Chairman bidding for a second term of office, Hon Kunle Sanyaolu Olowoopejo, appeared set to pick the party candidate ticket from the results of three Wards available to Civics Online Journal as at press time. The two aspirants seeking to grab the party ticket were the Olowoopejo (aka KSO), ostensibly the candidate for the establishment; and Hon Lukmon Idowu (aka L&K) who was being sponsored by the new force. However, the report gathered by our correspondents appeared to show that the latter group seemed not ready to go ahead with the elections over the disqualification of some aspirants belonging to their camp. This would later be given a verity of fact as elections were reported not to hold in Ward A (Isheri Olofin) and Ward B (Idimu North), which happens to be the respective Wards and supposedly strongholds of the party’s Apex Leader. Alhaji Abdullahi Enilolobo and member of the House of Assembly representing Alimosho Constituency 02, Hon Kehinde Joseph. In Ward B, all appeared well in the early morning as both sides cohabited peacefully while awaiting the Returning Officer (RO) and his team along with LASIEC observers. But trouble started at about 10am when consultations with the aspirants’ agents by the RO on how the election would proceed began. At that phase, one issue was raised and resolved after another until the RO declared to both parties that only one candidate was given to him as contesting for councillorship post in Ward B. This did not go down well with the new force group which representatives flared up instantly that there would be no election for that reason. After observations were raised as to the basis of their conclusions that their candidate was the disqualified aspirants since the RO had not revealed the identity of the valid aspirant for the election, calms returned and election deemed set to proceed. Thence both parties agreed to queue in four lines so that voting would be conducted in batches of four along with accreditation exercise. Lines were thus formed and voting set to commence until the RO again announced that he had only 700 ballot paper for the election. This was again taken for another issue of discomfort but turned out to be the last straw to break the camel’s back, as crisis erupted that made the RO left the venue never to return. When our correspondent spoke to Hon Kehinde Joseph via his WhatsApp line, he described the whole scene as a clarity that the opposition group attended the primary with the mission to disrupt it. He noted that only the party would have the final say on which way forward. The chat went thus: COJ: How would you describe today’s APC primary in your Ward B? Kehinde Joseph: But we are there together, so you can judge it yourself (which was) the troublesome group. COJ: Yes, we saw it all, particularly your interventions to make the whole event peaceful, but what position would you hold for a final conclusion on the whole exercise? Kehinde Joseph: They came there purposely to disrupt it because they know they can’t win. COJ: Given that as the opposition mission, would you say they were successful; and if so, what should be considered the way forward now? Kehinde Joseph: The party will make its position known soon. Mixed reports given by sources who claimed to witness the Ward A primaries also described it as a tensed atmosphere that would later lead to attack on the Apex Leader and Organising Secretary of the party’s Acting State Executive Committee, Alhaji Enilolobo. Election was said to be disrupted with skirmishes that involved a free for all fights characterized by throwing of chairs and pebbles, which was serious enough to hamper peaceful conduct of elections. Enilolobo was said to be padded out of the venue to safety. Efforts to get confirmations from Enilolobo’s aides by this magazine proved abortive before going to press. A message sent at about 2:18pm on Saturday to the WhatsApp line of Mr. Kazeem, his Media Aide reads: “Could you send us the results of Ward A (primary election) and possibly brief us on the election ambience? While it was confirmed delivered and read, no reply was given to our request till the press time. A SMS message also sent to Mr. Akadiri, Party Chairman of Ward A in the early hours on Sunday was not replied either. It read: “Pls can you avail us the results of yesterday primary election in your Ward. source informed us that it was disrupted such that there was no election. Ethics demand that we confirm and get your view on this”. News emerged late Friday that two aspirants were disqualified from the councillorship race in Egbe-Idimu LCDA by the outcome of the screening exercise. It cited the affected candidates to be Mr. Haleem Sulaimon Olanrewaju for Ward A and Mr. Bankole Olatunde Olumide in Ward B. The report accessed by our correspondent purportedly emanated from the State Secretariat of the party. The situation appeared not go down well with the Otoge Alimosh group which believed it was a power show of the establishment on display. A member of the top echelon of the group who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity insisted that their opposition side had “used their powers to refuse the contest of our aspirants in the primaries, we will also use our powers of the people to ensure that no primaries is held in Egbe-Idimu”, he said. Elections were however held in Ward C (Idimu South) Ward D (Egbe-Liasu) and Ward E (Agodo). Skirmishes were however reported to have happened in some of these wards too. One of the aspirants who is also the incumbent Council Chairman, Olowoopejo was caught on camera posted by his media aide as casting his vote in company of his wife in his Agodo Ward). The results of elections held in the three wards however showed he was in clear lead. In Alimosho Local Government, the primaries were reportedly disrupted with sounds of sporadic shooting by gunmen who invaded the election venue. However, a report by Ayinde Jamiu Kunle, the Senior Special Assistant, Media, to Hon Jelili Sulaimon, the incumbent Council Chairman seeking a second term ticket, claimed victory for his boss. He said even though it turned out to be a walk through a rough road, the joy was that it turned out victorious for his boss at last.