Aspirants protest at primaries but Tinubu’s grip on APC remains

As the All Progressives Congress (APC) concluded its primaries in Lagos, the shadow of the former governor and national leader of the party loomed large across all the venues of the exercise.
Apart from some of the aspirants donning Mr Tinubu’s signature cap, several of those who emerged victorious paid tribute to the APC national leader for contributing to their success.
The APC held its Lagos State governorship primaries on May 26; followed by the state assembly and house of representatives primaries the next day.
The primaries for the three senatorial districts’ tickets took place on May 28.
As winners emerged, victory speeches across all the venues bore one common denominator: the name ‘Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.’
At Eti Osa Constituency I, Noheem Adams, who won the ticket to contest for another term in the House of Assembly, polled all the valid votes cast in the primaries.
In his speech after the exercise, he promised to be “more accessible and available” to his constituents.
“I want to use this opportunity to thank Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, our national leader, Mr Ahmed Bola Tinubu, and all the kabiyesis (royal fathers).”

At Alimosho Constituency I, Rotimi Ekundayo, who won the ticket, thanked Mr Tinubu “for keeping to his promise of a free and fair election at the primaries and also abiding by the result of the election.”
“I pray that Tinubu will also emerge as the APC flag bearer at the presidential primaries on Sunday,” he said.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Photo Credit: @OfficialBAT)
In Amuwo Odofin Constituency I, Olaitan Folorunso, who defeated the incumbent lawmaker, Mojisola Macaulay, said Mr Tinubu advised them not to step down but to step up.
“I thank God that again I have been declared the winner of the APC ticket for Amuwo Odofin Constituency 1.
“I thank our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for allowing transparency in the process and for stating that whoever emerges the winner remains the winner.
“He made it clear that there would be no stepping down, instead we should step up. Today, I have stepped up in Amuwo Odofin Local Government.”
Similar speeches of gratitude to the former governor reverberated across the other venues from victors of the primaries.

Mr Tinubu, 70, was the governor of Lagos between 1999 and 2007. He is currently a presidential aspirant on the platform of the APC.
But ever since he left office, Mr Tinubu has kept his fingers in every pie in Lagos politics. From determining his successors as governors to councillors in local government wards.

It is common to hear, in Lagos political circles, aspirants going to ‘pay homage to Bourdillon,’ a euphemism for going to Mr Tinubu’s home at Bourdillon Street, Ikoyi, to get his blessing before aspiring for office.
Anointed governors
Despite Mr Tinubu endorsing the candidacy of a relatively unknown Akinwunmi Ambode ahead of the 2014 APC governorship primaries, the remaining aspirants insisted on going ahead with the primaries.
After the votes were collated, Mr Ambode polled 3,735 votes – out of the 5,700 total votes – to defeat the other 12 aspirants, including Adeyemi Ikuforiji, the Speaker of the Lagos Assembly, who got 182 votes.
Four years later, Mr Tinubu, having fallen out with Mr Ambode, endorsed Babajide Sanwo-Olu, a three-time commissioner, to run against the governor for the APC ticket.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu
At the end of the controversial direct primary, Mr Sanwo-Olu polled 970,851 votes to defeat Governor Ambode, who scored 72,901.
So earlier this month when Mr Tinubu publicly endorsed Governor Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, for a second term of four years; it left no one in doubt who the APC flag bearer in the state would be.
Nevertheless, two aspirants threw their hats in the ring.
One of them was Olawale Oluwo, a former commissioner for energy and mineral resources under Governor Ambode. He had resigned his post in 2018 and defected to the PDP after Mr Ambode suffered an embarrassing defeat at the party primary.
Former Lagos state governor, Akinwumi Ambode
The second aspirant was AbdulAhmed Mustapha, who retired as a permanent secretary, also in the ministry of energy and mineral resources.
Both aspirants were barred from entering the venue of the primary last Thursday after the electoral officer claimed they had been disqualified from contesting. Details of why they were disqualified were not provided. Mr Mustapha said he only learnt of his disqualification when he arrived at the venue.
Mr Oluwo described the congress as “one-sided” because it excluded the other aspiring delegates that bought the nomination forms.

“The Lagos State APC State Exco, headed by one Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, is complicit in the exercise of this blatant rape of democracy in APC Lagos,” he added.

Governor Sanwo-Olu went ahead to win all the votes cast at the primaries and would fly the party’s flag at next year’s election.
Selecting senators
Mr Tinubu’s wife, Oluremi Tinubu, is the current senator representing Lagos Central. Elected in 2011, she has served three terms – the only senator from Lagos to do so.
The decision to give Lagos Central senatorial district a fresh representation saw the drafting of Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni, the deputy speaker of the Lagos Assembly, as a replacement. Mr Eshinlokun-Sanni went ahead to win the ticket, polling 185 votes to defeat his closest rival, Demola Seriki, the Nigerian ambassador to Spain, who polled 97 votes.
In Lagos East, Tokunbo Abiru, the incumbent senator, was elected unopposed.
Mr Abiru was allegedly imposed on the party by Mr Tinubu ahead of the by-election in 2020, after the death of the then-senator, Bayo Oshinowo.
While the elections in both Lagos Central and East senatorial districts were held without rancour, that of the Lagos West took a controversial turn.
With the incumbent senator, Solomon Adeola, switching to Ogun West to continue his aspiration, the door was flung open for a new candidate for the party.
Musiliu Obanikoro, who defected to the party in 2017, appeared to be the front runner for the ticket. But the party leaders had a different plan.
Musiliu Obanikoro
It was gathered that the leaders preferred a female candidate, and former deputy governor, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, was pencilled down. After procuring the Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms, Mrs Orelope-Adefulire, however, failed to return them or present herself for screening.
The Lagos APC leaders quickly drafted in Idiat Adebule, another former deputy governor, to join the race. There are reports that they procured Mrs Adebule’s forms after the close of the exercise. PREMIUM TIMES could not yet verify the claims, but only Mr Obanikoro and Kayode Opeifa, a former commissioner, were cleared by the party’s screening panel.
However, on Saturday, Mrs Adebule defeated Mr Obanikoro with 424 votes to 119. Mr Opeifa came a distant third with four votes.
Mr Obanikoro immediately rejected the result. He said Mrs Adebule did not obtain the Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms or take part in the screening.
“Therefore, it is obvious that the exercise was designed to favour the acclaimed winner who was not even qualified to stand for the election,” the former minister said.

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