With the July 12 local government elections fast approaching, the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is facing serious internal heat. Several aggrieved party members and chairmanship hopefuls are kicking against what they call a move to handpick candidates through a so-called “consensus” arrangement—one many see as nothing more than political imposition.
The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission recently released the election timetable for all 57 council chairmanship seats and 376 councillorship positions. But even before the primaries, which are supposed to hold today, drama has already started to unfold.
Consensus or Imposition?
In theory, APC says it’s pushing for consensus to streamline candidates and avoid messy primaries. But in practice, many party members argue it’s just a way for party bigwigs to impose their preferred candidates.
Take Ojokoro LCDA for example. A group called the Ojokoro Apex Council announced Mobolaji Sanusi as the consensus chairmanship candidate after a closed-door screening. The selection was endorsed by prominent APC members like ex-House of Reps members Ipoola Omisore and Adisa Owolabi. But not everyone is on board.
Shortly after, another faction within Ojokoro threw up Rosiji Yemisi as their own candidate, following a separate screening. One of the dissenters told journalists that Sanusi is an outsider being pushed by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, and has no real political history in Ojokoro. According to them, imposing such a person could backfire badly.
Yaba and Agege Not Left Out
The same issue is playing out in Yaba LCDA. A coalition of concerned landlords and political stakeholders raised the alarm over what they call an attempt to smuggle in Babatunde Ojo as chairmanship candidate, even though he came 11th in a screening exercise where William Babatunde reportedly topped the chart with 85%.
Led by Amoo Ismail, the coalition sent a petition to First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, begging her and the President to intervene and stop a repeat of past mistakes where imposed candidates stalled progress in the local councils.
In Agege, it’s a different kind of storm. Reports say Speaker Obasa’s son, Abdulganiyu, was endorsed as the APC chairmanship candidate. That move triggered an uproar among party members who accused the leadership of bringing back the old “Baba sope” style of politics. The tension grew so bad that, according to reports, President Tinubu himself had to step in and tell Obasa to withdraw his son from the race.
Some Party Members Are Fuming
An aide to one of the aspirants in Yaba said the imposition game is being played in the name of President Tinubu, with party leaders falsely claiming he gave certain directives. “This is not who Tinubu is,” the aide said, accusing them of trying to tarnish the President’s legacy of internal democracy.
Even on social media, voices are rising. Opeyemi Ahmed, media aide to the outgoing chairman of Agboyi-Ketu LCDA, lamented in a now-deleted Facebook post that the party’s shifting stance—from direct primaries to consensus—could cost APC and Tinubu in future elections.
“If a few people are writing names at the top and calling it consensus at the bottom, then Tinubu should be ready to lose come 2027,” he warned.
Warning from Within
Veteran APC chieftain Fouad Oki also joined the conversation, penning a strongly-worded open letter where he warned party leaders against ignoring grassroots voices. According to him, disenfranchising the base now could sabotage not just the local elections but also national elections down the line.
“This should be a rallying cry,” he wrote. “Let Lagosians have a real say, or risk losing everything to internal chaos.”
Party Responds
In response to all the noise, APC Lagos spokesman Seye Oladejo denied any allegations of imposition. He insisted that the primary process hasn’t been concluded and that consensus remains a valid and constitutional option.
He explained that consensus helps avoid post-primary conflicts, but where agreement isn't reached, delegates will still vote to choose candidates. He added that aspirants unhappy with any consensus can insist on going to primaries—and if they win, so be it.
Oladejo also assured that the party has internal mechanisms to resolve disputes and that they’ll deal with any fallout from the primaries just as they’ve done in the past.
Final Word?
For now, Lagos APC is walking a tightrope. On one hand, it wants to manage internal rivalries with consensus. On the other, that same strategy is drawing backlash and protests. Whether the party can balance these tensions and still hold its stronghold in Lagos remains to be seen.
One thing is clear: 2027 is already on many minds.
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