By Sunday Ani
Following the cancellation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election to elect the party’s candidates in the forthcoming council chairmanship and councillorship elections in the state, majority stakeholders of the APC in Somolu Local Government Area have called on the leadership of the party to reschedule the cancelled primaries.
Addressing journalists in Lagos on Wednesday, June 2, an apex leader of the party in Somolu, Mr. Yomi Fakoya, appealed to the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and other party leaders in the state to ensure that the cancelled election was rescheduled and that adequate security arrangements were provided for transparent, and violent-free party primaries.
He condemned the unilateral cancellation of the primaries earlier scheduled for Saturday, May 29, by the incumbent chairman of Somolu LGA.
“On the day of the primary election, we were fully prepared to exercise our franchise with a view to picking a generally acceptable candidate. But, the incumbent chairman, who is also a candidate in the election, unilaterally cancelled the election. We insisted that the election materials should be taken to the party secretariat and not the council secretariat where the chairman in connivance with the party chairman had diverted the materials to,” he said.
Mr. Fakoya said the council chairman specifically threatened that if the materials were removed from the council secretariat as being demanded by some party faithful, the election would be cancelled. “Following our insistence,” the council chairman said: “By the powers conferred on me, I cancel this election. Minutes later, a call came from the state party chairman that the election has been suspended.”
He said the stakeholders were worried because of a rumour circulating that the party leadership had given the ticket to the incumbent council chairman even when there was no election. “Why should a winner emerge in a contest that never took place; more so by the aspirant who cancelled the election? We hope that the rumoured declaration of the incumbent as the candidate should remain a rumour,” he noted.
He also said that in a bid to amicably resolve all the nagging issues in the party and present a common front, majority stakeholders agreed on Bowale Sosimi as a consensus candidate, since four out of eight councillors, five out of eight ward chairmen, four out of five chairmanship aspirants, and majority of the party leaders endorsed his candidacy.
He urged the party’s teeming supporters to remain calm while they engage the party leaders and its hierarchy, especially the national leader, who they believe would stand by the majority decision.
Responding to what would happen if the rumour turns out to be true, he said: “When we get to the river we cross it but we trust the leadership of our party.
Responding to what would happen if the rumour turns out to be true, he said: “When we get to the river we cross it but we trust the leadership of our party.
There couldn’t have been a winner in an election that didn’t take place. I was not only present there; I was also involved and I saw everything. Even the election materials were not distributed to the wards.”