The All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmanship primaries in Lagos have triggered a wave of controversy following reports of large scale electoral manipulation, especially in Eti-Osa Local Government Area.
The party had conducted its primary elections on Saturday to select chairmanship candidates across 20 LGAs and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs). Despite a heavy security presence at the APC state secretariat in Ikeja, tensions flared as claims of rigging surfaced.
One of the aspirants in Eti-Osa, Wasiu Yekini Babatunde, has emerged at the centre of the storm. His supporters allege that the process was hijacked to sideline him and favour other contenders. Mallam Jida Saheed, Babatunde’s agent, described the process as nothing short of electoral theft. “What we saw wasn’t what we expected,” Saheed said. “First, when we came here, the agents were not allowed to be in the room where the delegates would vote in the election.”
According to him, things further deteriorated after ballots were cast. The counting process, he claimed, did not reflect the actual voting patterns of delegates. “After the voting and the whole election had been concluded, they brought out the votes and said they would count the votes and that everything would be transparent. But unfortunately, what we saw was a broad daylight robbery,” he said.
He went on to question the credibility of results that failed to credit Babatunde with a single vote, despite allegedly securing the support of over 15 delegates. “It was a shame to our party because, how can an aspirant who has over 15 delegates, when the counting was going on, they said one aspirant scored 19 votes, another aspirant scored one vote, and our aspirant who the majority of the delegates voted for didn’t score anything.” “This is an imposition and not an election. We are not going to accept it. The leaders should look into it and our mandate should be returned to our aspirant,” Saheed warned, adding that failure to resolve the matter could damage the party in future polls.
He drew parallels with the APC’s dismal showing in the 2023 elections, where internal rifts and controversial primaries allegedly cost the party its Eti-Osa House of Representatives seat to the Labour Party. “That was what they did that we lost the 2023 election. As we speak, in the 2023 election, we lost Eti-Osa Local Government to the Labour Party because of the greed and selfishness of our leaders, and they have done it again,” Saheed said.
Several other delegates, including Mr. Lawandi Abubakar, Mr. Alabi Olupekun, Hon. Akin Mustapha, Mr. Wasiu Owolabi, Mr. Rasheed Kokolowo, Mr. James Aderogu, Mr. Bello Olatunde, Mr. Maja Abide, Mr. Murtala Akinyu, and Mr. Olukunle Alabi, echoed Saheed’s grievances, affirming that they voted for Babatunde but their votes were ignored in the final tally.
As of the time of filing this report, the APC leadership in Lagos has yet to respond to the mounting accusations. However, the unfolding controversy is expected to deepen internal discord as the party prepares for the forthcoming local government elections later this year.
Follow the Parallel Facts channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCQSAoHgZWiDjR3Kn2E
