Attempts by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to take over the structures of the Lagos State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) following the relocation of President Bola Tinubu to Abuja has been resisted by party leaders in the state.
Credible sources in the party informed our correspondent that the onslaught against the governor is being led by the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) also known as the Council of Elders in the state chapter of the party and Seyi, the president’s son.
Facts made available to TheScrutiny also reveal that the governor is being checkmated by the Lagos State House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa.
According to our source, while Sanwo-Olu is already home and dry, having successfully secured and running his second term in office, issues relating to appointments and his successor in 2027 necessitated his move to attempt to take over the party’s structures as most state governors are automatically the party leaders in their respective states.
According to a serving member of the House of Representatives who was also a former party executive at the state level, when Sanwo-Olu was chosen by the party leaders in 2018 to replace his predecessor, Akinwunmi Ambode, he promised them that as a technocrat, he will focus on governance and leave political matters to the party leaders in the state.
“Yes, when the governor was chosen by the party leaders in 2018 to replace Ambode, he promised to play by the rules and focus completely on governance and allow the party leaders take charge of political matters . He did that throughout his first term and there was no problem at all”.
” The problem began shortly after the conclusion of the 2023 general elections. When Asiwaju (President Tinubu) won the presidential election, the governor and his loyalists started nursing the idea of taking over the party structures”.
“Unlike before, Asiwaju is always interested in who gets what in Lagos but now that he is preoccupied with managing the affairs of Nigeria and ECOWAS, the governor and those around him felt it’s time for him to assert control over the party. However, the party leaders and the president’s son, Seyi, won’t have none of it”.
” In Lagos APC, President Bola Tinubu is the apex leader of the GAC. Since becoming president and relocating to Abuja, Papa Prince Tajudeen Olusi who is the second-in-command has been in charge. However, he (Olusi) can’t do much due to age and the fact that he was recently bereaved of his wife”.
Going further, our source said Sanwo-Olu’s attempt at filling his cabinet with his cronies shortly after he was sworn-in in for second term was vehemently resisted by the party elders and Seyi Tinubu who used the Assembly against him.
Although the governor submitted 39 names of commissioner-nominees, the Assembly refused to clear 17 from the list, leading to a stalemate that lasted for weeks.
Those not confirmed by the House were Mrs Folashade Adefisayo, Prof. Akin Abayomi, Mr Yomi Oluyomi, Mrs Folashade Ambrose, Ms Barakat Bakare, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, Engr. Olalere Odusote, Dr Rotimi Fashola, Mrs Bolaji Dada.
Others include: Mr Sam Egube, Mr Olalekan Fatodu, Mrs Solape Hammond, Mr Mosopefolu George, Engr. Aramide Adeyoye, Mr Seun Osiyemi, Mr Rotimi Ogunwuyi, and Dr Olumide Oluyinka.
The lawmakers argued that while the governor said he wanted technocrats in his government, the APC had many technocrats who were not considered as the list was filled with many individuals who did not work for the party’s success.
A leader of the party who also spoke with our correspondent said a civil war is going on silently in the APC over Sanwo-Olu’s attempt to take over leadership of the party.
” The governor is still making frantic efforts to take over the party control but the party leaders, especially Seyi won’t accept that. Seyi is very influential in Lagos and all the 57 Council Chairmen in Lagos state defer to him as well as House of Assembly members. They will cage the governor if he tries anything contrary to the agreement he had with the party leaders. Forget that he has second term already. The outcome will be worse than Ambode’s own”.
” The last has not been heard about the matter at all. Most of the current appointments by the governor didn’t favour party members at all. Yet, these are the people who risked their lives when Labour Party won the presidential election in Lagos and almost clinched the governorship election too”.
“The next election is not going to be a tea party at all. Anyone who is telling the governor otherwise is just deceiving him. A lot of people who stuck their neck for the APC in Lagos in the last election will not be willing to do that in 2027 with the level of anger and bitterness in the party”.
