The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa has enjoined aggrieved All Progressives Congress members in Agege Local Government Area and Lagos state not to wreck the union and unity in the party. 

He made this known during the party’s meeting and the presentation of candidates for the July 12 Lagos Local government election at the Central primary school in Agege on Sunday. 

He said, “You know that everyone deserves to be elected into all the elective positions that are backed by the constitution and in the council. The positions that were vied for were not family positions and if after the election some people came out to vent their anger concerning the primary election they have the right, but not to use the anger to destroy the house (APC). The aggrieved should control their anger.

“If you recall at one time, for me to pick a counsellor in my ward Ward E in Agege was a problem.”

He went on to encourage the Agege APC members to exercise patience and have absolute confidence in the APC leadership, saying the party is supreme.

“We know everybody can not be a leader and they did not choose themselves, we chose them. If we are all leaders, who will be the followers? So we must learn to exercise patience and have confidence in our party. When the party has taken a decision, we must as party members abide by the decision.”

He called for party members to look for means to bring back the aggrieved members saying “We must not fight them, we must look for ways to bring them back. If we have to appeal, let us start now by appealing to them. We were friends yesterday and there is the belief that we can be friends tomorrow, hence we must learn how to reach out mostly during the election period. If it doesn’t favour you today you can be the beneficiary tomorrow. We must work together. It is not about this local government election, it is the 2027 election that we are so much interested in. This one is just a test case for us. We are using it to test our ability as to what we can do to increase our votes come 2027 election so bring everybody out. 

“If we can increase the turnout beyond what we had in the 2033 election, then we can go home rest assured that 2027 is a done deal. Ogundimu is not our enemy, he is our brother, Adejare is not our enemy he is our brother. Ope vice is not our enemy, he is our brother, that is how it is and it is not going to change.

“You know that everyone who has come to aspire is qualified to run and when you do not achieve your aim there is the tendency to show anger and this gathering is to advise that if you do not win today, you can tomorrow. So we call so that we can come together and join heads together to win the election.”

Speaking on the imposition of candidates he said, “How can anyone impose candidates on this kind of crowd?” He defended the APC primary in Agege saying it was peaceful,  free and fair, saying the minority can not impose on the majority. 

Also, the member of the House of Representatives representing Agege Federal Constituency speaking encouraged the people to mobilize for the election 

The Executive Chairman of Agege Local Government, Ganiyu Egunjobi in excitement said he was delighted about the conclusion of the primary and that the candidates that emerged showed the power of the people. 

He said, “We want our people to be prepared for the July 12 election proper. This meeting is to present to them the candidates that have emerged and encourage them to go all out and mobilize votes for the party because we don’t want what happened in the last election in Lagos to happen again. We also want our people to know that APC is the party and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing well for the nation.”

He also refuted the insinuation that there are factions in the Agege APC and defended his statement that Obasa’s son can succeed him saying, “ The insinuation about father and son … I really don’t understand what they mean by that. You know some of those saying this, their fathers are former council chairmen and councillors, why are they saying Obasa’s son can not contest? This boy is well read, you can’t stop him from contesting. He is just exercising his constitutional rights.”

He called on all aggrieved members to look beyond now as the primary election is over. 

“Let’s all come together and support our candidates. What we are expecting is victory for our candidates and for the people. We want all to be patient with the government. This administration of President Bola Tinubu means well for the citizens.”

Also the Executive Chairman of Orile-Agege Local Development Council Area, Johnson Sunday Babatunde said they are at the gathering to show solidarity for the candidates that have been chosen by the Agege people to represent them, one of which is Tunde Azeze the chairmanship candidate and the vice chairmanship candidate, AbdulGanitu Obasa and in Orile Agge Akinola Idowu as the chairman and Wale Fayemi as the vice chairman at July 12 local government election. 

He said, “You can see the number of people that are here, that shows that the people are in support of the candidates, and we are bringing it to the notice of the Agege people that APC is the party irrespective of what the nation is passing through, it is a learning process. When you look at the price of rice which used to sell for N90,000 it is now N55,000 so gradually the high price will come down.”

He went on to call on the winners to be humble in victory and the losers to put on the “Kangor” of sportsmanship.

He said the party will find a way to compensate the losers of the primary election as a way of comradery as he discredited allegations of imposition of candidates. 

He said, “Some of the candidates were talked to and given reasons why they had to step down and they did.”

The Commissioner for Establishment, Afolabi Ayantayo, speaking also to newsmen also rejected claims of imposition of candidates saying, “There is nothing like imposition of candidates in the APC primaries in Agege we have always followed a pattern as directed by the party leadership. With the volume of people trooping into this event, you will see that the people are focused in one direction.”