Kunle Adelabu
Aspirants from Ijede Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Ikorodu Division are set for shadow primary election to determine who will be the candidate of the council for the Assembly seat in the coming primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC), slated for next month.
The decision was taken on Thursday, April 28, 2022, during a meeting between the party leaders and the aspirants at the Ijede APC secretariat.
The shadow primary is slated to hold on tomorrow.
Nine aspirants are vying for the seat from Ijede LCDA which, according to the rotational arrangement in the Constituency, is next in line to present candidate, among the three LCDAs that made up the Ikorodu Constituency II, for the Assembly seat.
The two other councils are Igbogbo/Bayeku and Imota LCDAs.
THE IMPACT gathered that seven aspirants were at the meeting. They were Hon. Gbenga Oshin, Mr Olakunle Matti, Mr Aro Moshood Abidoun (AMA) and Mr Oresanya.
Others were Mr Hameed Olalekan Aroyewun, Mr Taoreed Hakeem and Mr Oluwatosin Onamade, while two other aspirants, Hon. Fathiu Salisu and Mr Bello Yusuf were absent at the meeting.
It would be recalled that the party leaders, at a meeting held last week, had informed aspirants to be ready for the selection of a consensus aspirant to face the incumbent, Hon. Nurudeen Solaja, who is from Imota.
Hon. Solaja has insisted that he would seek for re – election for a third term against the rotational arrangement in existence in the constituency, stating that he has the constitutional right to do so.
Leaders of the party at the parley which included Mr Agura, Chairman, APC Ijede LGA, Hon. (Mrs), Mtunrayo Gbadebo – Alogba, Chairman, Ijede LCDA, Mr Toyin Bello, Secretary, Ijede APC, Mr Ajetunmobi and Alhaji Fahm, charged the aspirants to embark on campaign to canvass Ward Executives who are expected to vote in the shadow primary election on Saturday.
THE IMPACT also gathered that party leaders have directed the aspirants not to obtain the N2million nomination form yet until after the shadow primary election.
Three of the aspirants, THE IMPACT gathered were ready to get their nomination form this week but for the leaders directive.
Sources at the meeting also confirmed to our reporter that whoever emerge as the winner of the shadow primary election among the nine aspirants would be presented to Igbogbo/Bayeku and Imota LCDAs as the official candidate of Ijede LCDA and would contest against the incumbent in the APC primary election.
Meanwhile, Hon. Nurudeen Solaja, the incumbent representative of the Ikorodu Constituency II, and Mr Gbolahan Ogunleye, the son of the former Deputy Governor and member of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, have emerged as the first set of aspirants to obtain the nomination form from Constituency II and I respectively, to contest for the Assembly seats.
As at the time of going to the press, there were no other aspirants that have obtained the form, though, THE IMPACT gathered that an aspirant from Ikorodu Constituency II claimed that he has collected the form but sources at the state secretariat of the party said otherwise.
It was also alleged by some of the party chieftains and aspirants from Ijede that a particular aspirant has been sponsored by external forces to disrupt the Ijede LCDA calculation and favour the incumbent.
Attempt to reach Hon. Solaja and his media aide for their reactions on the allegation proved abortive as at the time of going to press.
Speaking with a political analyst, he said that there is nothing wrong if the incumbent is sponsoring aspirant(s) in Ijede to his favour.
“It’s all politics. This is the time that allegations and counter – allegations do fly around because it’s time to play the game. More so, there is nothing wrong of NS (Hon. Nurudeen Solaja) sponsoring an aspirant or two in Ijede. He will only succeed if the party hierarchy and members in Ijede LCDA allows it”, he said.
“They are the ones to put their house in order and speak with one voice. Politics is in the air and that is how we play the game”, the leader added.
