A brewing power struggle within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has boiled over as The Mandate Movement (TMM) formally accused the Justice Forum caucus of attempting to hijack the candidate selection process for the upcoming primaries.
In a communiqué released after an
emergency meeting on Monday, April 27, 2026, TMM leaders slammed a recent
meeting held at the Delta Continental Hotel, Isolo, describing it as a
deliberate attempt to marginalize key stakeholders and manipulate the emergence
of consensus candidates for the House of Representatives and State House of
Assembly.
The friction stems from a Friday meeting
organized by the Justice Forum to engage aspirant, a gathering to which TMM
claims they were never invited. According to TMM, this is not an isolated
incident but a recurring pattern of exclusion.
“The Mandate Movement, as a prominent
caucus within the party, was neither informed nor invited. This suggests a
deliberate attempt to manipulate the selection of consensus candidates,” the
statement read.
The movement specifically pointed to the
purported endorsement of a sitting member of the Lagos State House of
Assembly, an act they claim was done in secrecy to bypass democratic hurdles.
The brewing internal rift has already
drawn the attention of the state party hierarchy. TMM leaders publicly threw
their weight behind APC State Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, who recently
moved to nullify the controversial endorsements.
TMM’s core demands include, strict
compliance with the Electoral Act 2025 and APC primary guidelines.
The immediate inauguration of a Constituency Consensus Committee featuring
equal representation from both the Justice Forum and TMM and a demand that if a
fair consensus cannot be reached, the party must proceed to direct primaries to
let the rank-and-file members decide.
The internal bickering comes at a
sensitive time for the ruling party. TMM leaders referenced the
less-than-satisfactory performance of the Oshodi-Isolo II constituency in the
2023 elections, warning that internal sabotage could jeopardize the party’s future
prospects.
A member of the Governor’s Advisory
Council (GAC) and leader of TMM,
Chief Muraina Taiwo, signed the communiqué with a stern warning:
“Any attempt to divide the party,
exclude critical stakeholders, or impose candidates through undemocratic means
amounts to internal sabotage..We will resist any attempt to manipulate the
party structure to serve individual interests.”
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