The member representing Ikeja Federal Constituency of Lagos State and Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Finance, James Abiodun Faleke, has debunked reports that he organised a parallel ward in Ikeja Federal Constituency with the leader of the Lagos4Lagos Movement.
He described such reports as “totally false and lie from the pit of hell.”
In a statement he personally signed, Faleke said: “The national body of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), had set dates and guidelines for the congresses and mode of purchase of forms.
“It also advised that as much as possible, consensus arrangement should be adopted as the first option and where this is not possible, an elective congress be conducted.
“I went ahead to buy congress forms for our people as we had always done in the past congresses.
“However, unknown to us, the state governor, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had magnanimously bought forms for all party members who wish to contest in Lagos State, which had never happened in the recent past.
“So the forms we purchased for Ikeja LGA were not used, except in one ward – Ward F, which is Ogba Oluwole.
“In Ikeja LGA, we have 10 Federal Wards. Of the 10, the leadership in nine sat and agreed on consensus, including my ward – Ward B; and note that I’m from the same ward with the GAC member, Cardinal James Odunmbaku.
“Also note that despite the fact that I was not at the meeting where the consensus arrangement for my Ward B was agreed on, I complied and agreed with the resolution of the leaders of the ward. This I believe was and should be the same practice in the other wards.
“However, in Ward F, known as Ogba/Oluwole communities, I was told that the leaders could not agree as efforts to have the consensus reached proved abortive because the side led by Mrs Toke Benson, Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing, refused to sit down with other leaders whom she met in the ward after returning from her sojourn in the Labour Party.
“She claims to be a leader because she is an SA to the Governor. But she cannot mobilize 20 per cent of the people of her ward for the same governor in an election. It is others with no appointments that mobilized for the party in the ward and LGA.
“This ward has other leaders such as the state Commissioner for Commerce, Mrs Lola Akande; former Sole Administrator of the Ojodu LCDA, Honourable Moyosore Jaji, Alhaji Mudasiru Arewa, Hon Tajudeen Bello, Akin Lashile, Demola Banjo, Mr Isaac Ajani, Hon Demola Okubajo, Alhaji Wasiu Motajo and so many of the Youths and women leaders together with other great party leaders who have been in politics since Awolowo days and have NEVER been disloyal to Asiwaju.
“So there was no consensus in Ward F. Then, the Congress Ward Electoral Committee invited the national committee to help out; and when consensus arrangement failed, an elective congress was conducted and the Toke Benson camp failed to win even a seat.”
Faleke claims to have video and pictorial evidence.
He asked rhetorically: “If there was any parallel congress, where was it held?”
He noted that the venue for the elective congress conducted for the ward took place at the designated venue picked by the leadership of the party and sanctioned by the ward congress committee. Also, he said that the elective congress was conducted by the ward congress committee, duly supervised by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Faleke challenged the “rumour mongers” to tell the whole world the venue of the alleged parallel congress.
He added: “This fake story that we held a parallel congress came out because of 2023 House of Representatives and Houses of Assembly seats. Can Congress in one ward out of ten wards of the LGA determine the party’s tickets for these seats?
“Have they forgotten that it is only God who determines our existence till and beyond 2023?
“Have they forgotten that we have always used Direct Primary method? She was roundly defeated in the last primaries despite all blackmail.
“How can a group with less than 20 people in the ward be superior to over 1000 party members in the ward? How can she be using the instrument of office, her closeness a GAC member to subvert the wishes of the people rather than enhancing their interest? Why is blackmail their weapon instead of grassroots mobilization to achieve result for the party?”
He urged the state governor and his deputy, who he said are performing and ae loved by the people, to ignore “this cheap blackmail.”
Faleke said the fact that he bought forms as directed by the party cannot be because he is against the governor or any leader, “it is just our practice in the past and there was no communication to members of NASS that the governor had purchased forms for party members to the best of my knowledge.”
“This is my reaction to the malicious lies being spread by political rivals who have adopted cheap blackmail as weapon because of their inability to deliver dividends of democracy to party members,” he said.