Elders in the Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area of Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress have said it is time to address the grievances within the party in the council.
The Elders made their position known during a meeting that was also used to share new year gifts, including cash, meant for members.
The elders, including the Apex Leader, Elder Dele Ogunshakin, and Elder Dele Ogundipe, spoke at the APC LGA Meeting on Monday in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the meeting, attended by more than 3,000 party members, was called by the elders to discuss issues affecting the party in the council
Ogunshakin noted that the way the current local government managers were running the party structure had brought disaffection within the party in the area.
Also Read
- Napoli miss chance to extend Serie ‘A’ lead with Udinese draw
- Adeboye: We wrote petition against TikToker Seaking — Forum
- Tinubu, Macron, Obasanjo, others honour Wigwe one year after
- Ohanaeze Youth president kidnapped, police launch manhunt
- ECWA Pastor shot dead in Gombe, police speak on cause
According to him, the party nearly suffered total defeat during the 2023 general election in the council because of the actions and inactions of the council managers.
He called on the State Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and President Bola Tinubu to intervene to put things right in Oshodi.
Ogunshakin said that the council chairman, Kehinde Al-Maroof, had not done enough to bring party members together after the election that produced him.
He alleged that the party chairman had been dealing only with his loyalists from a particular political group and abandoned members in the mainstream party structure.
He said: “Since the chairman came in, he only deals with members of this group, which is his own caucus.
“That’s the bottom line of the division.
“This can destroy the party in Oshodi
“The cohesion of the party at this local government is shaky.
“The founding members, those of us who started in 1998, have been sidelined.”
The elder said that stakeholders in the party had met with the party chairman and urged him to do something urgently on the issues.
Ogunshakin expressed the possibility of returning peace to the party with genuine reconciliation.
Ge said: “The governor cannot go to sleep with this kind of thing happening and the results of the last election.
“He must initiate genuine reconciliation
“We are not fighting because of individuals now.
“We just don’t want what happened in 2023, when our President lost in Lagos, to happen again.”
Elder Ogundipe said that those elected on the platform of the party failed to reconcile members after the 2021 local government election.
He said: “The leadership failure was what led to the low votes we had at the general election in 2023.
“We were lucky.
“Labour Party almost got the House of Representatives from APC also.”
Expressing surprise about the high turnout of aggrieved members at the meeting, Ogundipe urged the state party hierarchy to address the grievances before the 2025 council poll.
He said: “We must ensure we have a ready leadership.
“We must ensure we have a leader that will bring all of us together.
“A leader that will carry all of us together so that we can have a united family.”
Also speaking, Lady Evangelist Adesola Oriyomi, one of the APC Woman Leaders in Oshodi-Isolo, said the meeting was put together in order to encourage those discouraged by the situation in the party.
The meeting was attended by former and present political appointees and lawmakers, including the General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, Daisi Oso, and former APC State Auditor, Elder Wale Ariyibi.
Others were Taiwo Ayedun, former Senior Special Assistant on Civic Engagement to former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode; and Adebanji Atewogboye, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Grassroots Sports Development.
Also, Akeem Sokunle, a former two-term lawmaker, who represented Oshodi/Isolo Constituency 1 at the Lagos State House of Assembly; and Sadiq Gbolade, a former Supervisor for Works in the council, were present.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
