A former minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, the chairman of the Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress ( APC), Cornelius Ojelabi, and another party leader, Fuad Oki, have waded into the political crisis rocking the Amuwo-Odofin local government area and the Ori-Ade local council development area in the state.
Party members in the two council areas have been at loggerheads, resulting in the party’s polarisation within the regions.
It would be recalled that during the 2023 general elections, the ruling party lost to the Labour Party (LP), making it one of the losses the party has experienced in the past elections to the opposition, as the two council areas remain the only places where the opposition always recorded victory.
In separate speeches at a summit organised by party leaders from the two local governments held in the Festac area of the state, Obanikoro, Fuad, Ojelabi, and other party stalwarts chided party members within the areas for causing disunity, which has affected the party’s fortunes in past elections.
Member of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, told the party members to make sacrifices for the party, saying, “There is no political party where there won’t be a crisis because politics itself is about conflict resolution. Sacrifice is part of the game. Every one of you must hold the party in your local governments for everyone’s glory,” Obanikoro said.
In his keynote speech, Fuad Oki said the APC’s loss in the Amuwo-Odofin and Ori-Ade council areas at the 2023 elections resulted from differences and infighting among party members.
He lamented that the party has constantly been losing in the two council areas, noting that as another election approaches, the party will only succeed if conflicts are resolved.
Lagos State Chairman, All Progressives Congress Cornelius Ojelabi, urged the council members to change their attitudes and called for unity among the party members.
He told the party leaders in the areas to be ashamed that the party lost to the Labour Party in the 2023 election in Amuwo-Odofin.
