By Olusegun Olanrewaju
Last Saturday’s State Congress to elect party executives in the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has come and gone, but the ripples generated by the process was no less dramatic.

After a range of positions which overtly pitted chieftains of the party in the camps of National APC leader, Bola Tinubu against other ‘rebels’ in the camp of the Olajide Adediran -led Lagos 4Lagos Movement, a new state party chairman emerged in the person of Mr. Cornelius Ojelabi, a former state Commissioner for Rural Development, with the bolstering support of the Tinubu ‘presidential campaign’ camp, defeated the outgone party executive led by Alhaji Tunde Balogun.

At the Congress held at Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, on Lagos Island, Ojelabi was elected by card-carrying members of the party on Saturday. With his victory in the chairmanship race, Ojelabi will now lead 36 other executives, with the long range target of ensuring the victory of the AC at the national level in the 2023 general elections, especially the presidential slot their principal is gunning for.

It was a capacity gathering of party faithful. Though there was apprehension that the election had all the trapping of tension with some parallel groups alleged to be holding their own congresses in other parts of the state same day, the eagle landed on the shoulders of the Ojelabi campers.

They were all there at the main happening centre. The roll call of who is who was led by state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; the three senators representing Lagos State in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, Senators Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central), Rotimi Abiru (Lagos East) and Olamilekan Adeola (West), as well as the Chief of Staff to the governor, Mr. Tayo Ayinde.

Others include all serving members of the national and state houses of assembly, chairmen of local government councils, and other party officials who had congregated to witness the promise of the directive of the national electoral committee chair, Adebayo Adelabu, to produce a fair and equitable selection process, as directed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) to organise a ‘smooth’ election.

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In all, 38 aspirants were screened for the 37 vacant positions in the exco council (two for the chairmanship). One of the two candidates for the chairmanship had been disqualified over issues allegedly bordering on party guidelines. Other contestant got express confirmation of their candidacy, apparently in a bid to show overwhelming home base support for their leader, Tinubu, a crucial factor in a presidential election.

At the end of the election organised by the secretary to the state congress committee, Ambassador Anthony Ogba, Governor Sanwo-Olu declared the process as “simply decisive, non-controversial”.

‘The rebels’
At the same time the Tinubu loyalists were electing their exco, another splinter, Lagos4Lagos was exhibiting its own show somewhere else. The group emerged from its own coven held at the very conspicuous Ikeja Airport Hotel, on the Lagos Mainland, to announce the election of Sunday Ajayi, as the party’s chairman in the state. And yet another group said to be loyal to the former Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, reportedly held another congress at a ‘designated venue’ in Obanikoro area of the state.

At the Lagos4Lagos congress said it had elected Bode Makinde as its secretary. In his post-election speech, new factional state chairman, Ajayi alluded to what he called ‘impunity’ in the APC rank, which according to him, had ended the ‘Baba Sope’ (the grandmaster has said) plutocracy in the Tinubu cadre, the conclusion of the state congress by the group. “The authentic list and delegates are here. If there’s any list with them it’s our list. Hon Prince Sunday Ajayi is the authentic chairman of lagos state APC. I congratulate all the authentic Exco of Lagos state,” Ajayi said.

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The Lead Visioner of Lagos4Lagos Movement, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, popularly called “Jandor,” appreciated the former Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Princess Adenrele Adeniran-Ogunsanya for being part of the history of new Lagos. He even said that the Lagos4Lagos group “has set the pace for others to follow.” “You can all see that they cannot do anything until their father returns. With what we have done today, the journey has just begun.

“It’s because of what we have done that they picked their own chairman from my local government in Ojo and my ward. I have watched their chairman very closely, Cornelius Ojelabi, he cannot aspire for anything, that’s why they picked him,” Adediran (Jendor) said. “Our destination is to be the governor of Lagos state in 2023. If we put in more effort, they will give us the governorship ticket,” he said.

ThisNigeria attempted to get further comments from Adediran during the week, but he was yet to respond the text message sent to him. “This will not in any way deter us. He cannot say who will be the candidate for governorship in 2023. We have our destination, and we have to work towards it.

Speaking, however, the new chairman pledged to lead the team by consolidating the progress recorded under his predecessor, Hon. Tunde Balogun, and promised to set the party on higher pedestal. He said, “On behalf of all new executive members of the party, I give our commitment to setting our great party in a higher pedestal. All hands must be on deck, as this is a crucial moment in our political endeavours in Lagos. It is a moment other states are looking forward to.”

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Ojelabi thanked the past caretaker committee members for their service, especially their effort to grow the party membership and its reach. Attempts to get Adediran’s view last week stalled as his SMS message was un-returned. But on his phone line, he told the correspondent in Yoruba language: “I am not in Lagos. I am in Osun.”

The new drivers
Tinubu’s new army on Acme Road, Agidingbi, include: Deputy State Chairman, Moshood Maiyegun; State Secretary, Sunmi Odesanya; Assistant State Secretary, Mariam Animashaun; Publicity Secretary, Seye Oladejo; Legal Adviser, Folashade Bakare; Assistant Legal Adviser, Adebola Adewunmi-Ladigbolu, and State Women Leader, Jumoke Okoya-Thomas.

Others are the State Vice Chairmen, Tunde Aboyade (West), Mrs. Oladunjoye (East) and Daramola (Central). Biodun Aigbe also made the list as assistant state treasurer; Oludele Sonola (Financial Secretary); Doyin Banjo (Assistant Financial Secretary); Funke Olaleye (Organising Secretary); Ayodele Adewale (Assistant Organising Secretary), Bayo Sanwo-Olu (Assistant Publicity Secretary) and Yesiru Karamo (Welfare Secretary), among others.

Issues
Though the outgone chairman of the ousted Balogun administration immediately conceded victory, it was clear that were a little grumbly. Though Balogun had been having an uneasy time running what is unarguably the largest chapter of the ruling party in the country, he had, in the immediate period to the election, been boasting about his achievements to having led the chapter to enviable heights.

When ThisNigeria visited the state headquarters recently to conduct a survey, it was observed that poster of the chairmanship candidate flooded the premises, all pointing to the victories at the (Buhari) presidential run to governorship and all other elections held in the state, including ward, local government, state and even legislative ones into state, and federal houses of assembly, with near 100 per cent record.

Balogun’s ‘defeat’ also raised questions in some columns who think that his closeness to the Tinubu cause, even to the extent of ‘snubbing’ the candidates of aspirant candidacy of the party from the diaspora fora, were put down wittingly contained. A statement by the election committee after the exercise had said, “At 2.40pm, the exercise ended, with Ojelabi returning as duly elected chairman.”

Balogun’s cross
Alhaji Tunde Balogun emerged the Lagos APC chairman on Saturday, April 19, 2018, before the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari.

By self-admission, he was one of those who worked assiduously to ensure the victory of the president’s second term bid., as well as making the party a formidable one it has become today in the body politic of the country. As usual, there were drama when the selection process of the Balogun team was to be selected then, as the chairperson of the APC Congress Committee in the state, Senator Uche Ekwunife, had earlier outrightly ruled out voting during the exercise.

Thus, the new executives were ‘handpicked’ based on ‘affirmation’ by the delegates. And Balogun, by standards, was not a stranger to the court politics of intrigues and what other sources called ‘manipulation and arm-twisting’ that could have aided his ouster. Though he was presiding over a factionalised party, he pretended all was well insisting the were no rivalry, ostensibly because his faction was the one recognised at the national level because of Tinubu’s influence.

And so, he may have pretty well be sitting on a keg of gunpowder of ‘betrayal’ but only time would unearth this. It would be recalled that the rival Adediran (Jandor) group has been having a free run to the build-up, having made some such divisive attempts on congresses in the past.

In the September 3, 2021 local government congress also decided by ‘affirmation’, the Lagos$Lagos Movement also held a parallel congress, which spilt the APC further down in the middle. That was a repetition of what had also earlier happened in the August 2021 ward congress when the Lagos4Lahgos faction went ahead to conduct separate congress in 245 wards and 20 local governments.

Watchers say it was thus, no surprise that the state was embroiled in a crisis well seated in the local government primary election in Lagos Allegations and counter-allegations trailed some leaders of the party, who expressed their displeasure in alleged imposition of candidates, especially in Apapa and Agege local governments, among others.

Balogun, who is also from Apapa local government was accused of manipulating the election with use of thugs and causing unrest in the primary election. “Honourable Tunde Balogun has caused so many unrest to the community due to his greed and imposition of the present vice chairman of the council to emerged as the chairman of the local government after the election, while the incumbent chairman won the election with evidence of results,” the APC leader in Apapa, Owolabi Adele had said.

He also alleged that the ousted Lagos APC Chair told him to settle for the position of the vice chairman, if he wanted to be in the council, “while the present vice chairman becomes the chairman of the LG, despite the fact that the election was in my favour”.

In a letter, Owolabi Adele called on the election committee to intervene, while accusing the Lagos APC chair of imposition, gross misconduct and thuggery in primary elections.

Feelers

Ahead of the last Saturday election which saw to his quitting office last Saturday, balogun’s fall from office had been viral.

There were suggestions in the media, especially son social media platforms, that as the caretaker chairman, he might not return to the position.

Things must have ruptured to the extent that he might not even re-contest, but rather advised to step aside.

Sensing the remote, the former caretaker was reported to have started removing his personal effects in office in the Monday presiding the weekend day of long knives at the ACME Road, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos headquarters of state APC.

A source was quoted to have said: “We noticed our chairman was taking his personal effects out of the office on Monday. That is suggestive of what may be his fate going forward.”

An online media captured the story in a clearer form: “Balogun’s undoing was not too clear last night. But some top officials of the party alleged that he is not a team player.”

An attempt to get official angle to the story on Tuesday was unsuccessful because of the Muslim festivities. But a source had earlier offered in post, “He was accused of providing a lack-lustre leadership for the party.”

The curtain

When ThisNigeria visited during the week, it was observed that Balogun audacious posters highlighting his achievements in the Lagos APC had been supplanted by those of the incoming chair, Ojelabi.

As well as the presidential campaign poster of their grandmaster, Tinubu.

Attemts to speak with the APc spokesman, Seye Oladejo, in Lagos yesterday failed.

Balogun’s profile

Born on March 13, 1951, he attended Tinubu Methodist School, Lagos Island, for his primary education and Ahmadiyya College, Agege, for his secondary school and Higher School Certificate education.

He is a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc Hons) in Social Science.

He worked with United Trading Company (UAC) from 1977–1981 before he left to establish his own business outfit, Bailey–Babs Nigeria Limited, which specialised in sales and service of computer software.

In the defunct Second Republic when he cut his teeth in politics, he was a member of Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). In the Third Republic, he pitched tent with the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

In 1996, he was elected the vice chairman of Apapa Local Government Council and in 1999.

Balogun became the state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry and later that of Home Affairs and Culture in 2002, a position he held till 2011 at expiration of first tenure of erstwhile Lagos State governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola.