Wale JAGUN
-Aggrieved aspirants pledge to work for party’s success in general elections
As part of the efforts by the Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to manage the fall-outs of the recently concluded primary elections, leadership of the party at the state level has embarked on a reconciliation mission aimed at appeasing aggrieved aspirants.
The reconciliation started with the resolving of the primary elections’ fallouts in Ikorodu division at a high powered meeting held at the party’s State Secretariat at ACME, Ikeja, on Friday, October 19, 2018.
Present at the meeting were the Deputy State Chairman of APC, Chief Sunny Ajose who stood in for the party chairman, Chief Tunde Balogun, State Vice Chairman, Lagos East Senatorial District, Asipa Kaoli Olusanya and Chief Dele Olowu, a chieftain of the party.
Also at the said meeting was Otunba Segun Abiru, Chairman, Ikorodu-Oga Development Association (IKODASS) and former senatorial aspirant.
It was gathered that the aggrieved aspirants who were present at the meeting were given the opportunity to state their grievances.
“Aspirants that were at the parley did voice their grievances and reservations at the process of the just concluded primaries but at the end, they all agreed with the position of the party to work together in the interest of the party.
THE IMPACT also gathered that the leadership of the party in Ikorodu division is also polarized and that it was also agreed at the meeting that the next phase of the meeting, which would also include aggrieved leaders and which date is yet to be fixed, would hold in Ikorodu.
According to another source, it was also agreed that the party must ensure that the aggrieved aspirants are taken care of with appointments.
Our source at the meeting also revealed that Asipa Olusanya, while speaking on behalf of the party, appealed to the aggrieved aspirants to sheathe their swords in the interest of the party.
“Another major issue that came up is the issue of compensation for the aggrieved aspirants. On this, Asipa Kaoli actually assured that they are going to demand for more slots for Ikorodu in terms of appointments to take care of them.
“But this was premised on the request that the aspirants should work for the victory of the party in the general elections.And they all agreed to do so by putting aside their differences and focus on achieving victory for the party in the coming general elections”, the source said.
Chief Ajose was said to have applauded the aggrieved aspirants for jettisoned their personal interests for that of the party.
He added that other parts of the state where the party is also enmeshed in post primary crisis should emulate the love for party and spirit of sportsmanship demonstrated by the aggrieved aspirants from Ikorodu division.
We also learnt that Hon. Babajimi Benson, representative of Ikorodu Federal Constituency at the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly, who was expected to attend the meeting, was unable to make it due to official matter at Abuja.
Also absent at the meeting were four aspirants for the Ikorodu Constituency I seat at the Lagos State House of Assembly – Otunba Saheed Ibikunle, a former Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Lagos State on Educational Management and former Secretary to the Ikorodu Local Government, Hon. Adeola Jokomba, two-term Chairman, Ikorodu North LCDA, Mr Toyin Gafaar, a philanthropist and owner of Bolowotan FC and Mr Yekinni Nurudeen, a civil servant.
THE IMPACT, however, gathered that they sent in their apologies to the meeting.
Leading other aspirants to the parley were the three term lawmaker and the Majority Leader, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Sanai Agunbiade who got the party’s ticket to run for the fourth term and his counterpart in Ikorodu Constituency II, Hon Nurudeen Solaja, who has also got the party’s nod to run for the second term.
Other aspirants in attendance were Barr. Lekan Ijelu, Mr Yinka Majekodunmi, Mr Lateef Anifowose and Omowunmi Ogbara who were aspirants for the Ikorodu Constituency I seat as well as Mr Sesan Akeju who was the sole challenger for the Ikorodu Constituency II seat.
In a related development, some aggrieved individuals in Ikorodu, numbering about 50, took to the streets to stage another protest against the fourth term ambition of Hon. S.O. B Agunbiade on Sunday, October 21, 2018, two days after the reconciliation meeting at ACME.
The protesters gathered at the open ground opposite the Ikorodu Post Office from where they marched through Oriwu road and later converged on Chief Andus house where they were sighted by our reporter.
Earlier on that Sunday, according to report gathered, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Ikorodu had invited some APC members who were alleged to be the brain behind the protest for questioning but they vehemently denied any involvement.
The protesters, who were few in numbers, we gathered slater dispersed because they could not garner enough crowd and also because the sound system they rented for the protest developed fault.
A chieftain of the party in Ikorodu, who spoke with THE IMPACT on that Sunday, stated that aside the reconciliation move initiated at the state level, efforts are also in top gear to resolve the differences among some aggrieved stakeholders of the party in Ikorodu.
“We know that they are being financed by some aggrieved stakeholders but we are not going to relent on our efforts in appealing to them. The party is bigger than all of us and it is in the interests of all that we should come together to win the general elections. That is the only way to protect ourselves”, the chieftain stated.
We also gathered that the APC candidates in Ikorodu division have also initiated move to resolve the differences among them first and afterwards collectively meet with the aggrieved aspirants to settle their differences.
