The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress, APC, deepened as the Iyaloja General of Nigeria, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, on Wednesday, called for the disbandment of the influential Justice Forum and Mandate Movement groups over alleged manipulation of the party’s primaries.
Tinubu-Ojo, daughter of President Bola Tinubu,
specifically faulted the conduct of the House of Representatives primary for
Mushin Constituency I, Agege Constituency II, Ojokoro, alleging that the
mandate of aspirants in the constituencies were stolen and handed to “a
non-winner.”
Speaking during the weekly meeting of market leaders
and stakeholders at the Iyaloja-General’s office in Alausa, Ikeja, she
condemned what she described as political shenanigans and warned against
attempts to subvert the will of party members.
She also decried the alleged marginalisation of traders by political office
holders despite their contributions to the growth and electoral success of the
APC in Lagos State.
The Iyaloja General cited the cases of Mutiu Olaide
Oladeebo in Agege Constituency II, Seye Oladejo in Mushin Federal Constituency,
and Olotu Emmanuel Ojo in Ojokoro, insisting that the aspirants won their
respective primaries convincingly before moves were allegedly made to alter the
outcomes.
She said: “We have to cry out now, Let the APC
cancel Justice and Mandate Forums because our governroship candidate belongs to
the Justice Forum. Everybody is now joking the Justice Forum because that is
where our incoming governor’s belongs to. Are we not Lagosians?
“When he becomes the governor, he will not be the
governor for APC alone, he has to balance it. Even when you are the governor,
you have to lead both your friends and foes. It is saddening that when a
Mandate Forum aspirant wins, he jumps to Justice Forum, it is saddening. It is
a way of telling us that hard work doesn’t pay in politics.
“Something must be done on that because it is
important. We are sure that Seye Oladejo won in Mushin Federal Constituency and
Olotu Emmanuel Ojo in Ojokoro won in Ojoroko with a landslide.
“Infact, we decided to calm down and see what they will
do about it because we are ready to protest. We know they won the election and
their mandate should not be given to somebody else.”
She urged APC leaders at the state and national
levels to immediately investigate the disputed primaries and ensure that
justice prevailed before final ratification of the results.
She warned that failure to address the grievances
could worsen internal tensions within the APC ahead of the 2027 general
elections.
Tinubu-Ojo declared that market women across Lagos remained committed to
supporting the governorship ambition of Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat and other APC
candidates nationwide, but stressed that traders deserved recognition and
political appointments in return for their loyalty and sacrifices.
She also urged President Bola Tinubu to acknowledge
traders as critical stakeholders in national development.
Meanwhile, aggrieved APC members and supporters in
Mushin threatened mass protests if the alleged mandate of Oladejo was not
restored.
The protesters accused leaders of the Justice Forum
bloc of attempting to impose candidates and undermine internal democracy within
the party.
“We know who won the election and the mandate should
not be stolen. We are ready to protest if justice is not done,” one of the
protesters said.
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