By Olasunkanmi Akoni

All is now set for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Primaries, scheduled to take place at the State Secretariat, Acme Road, Ikeja, tomorrow, May 10, 2025.

Final preparations have been concluded to ensure a smooth and successful exercise, which is expected to produce the party’s chairmanship and councillorship candidates for the upcoming July 12 council polls.

The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) had previously slated July 12 for the conduct of elections into 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). Lagos State has a total of 377 councilors, each representing a ward across the 57 LGAs and LCDAs.

Last week, the APC electoral committee cleared 432 chairmanship aspirants out of the 470 who submitted nomination forms for the 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs. The councillorship polls will be held simultaneously across all 57 councils.

The APC indicated that its list of candidates for the chairmanship and councillorship polls would emerge through consensus agreements among party leaders, aspirants, and members across the LGAs and LCDAs.

The party emphasized that adopting consensus lists would ensure a rancour-free primary and maintain the existing unity within the Lagos APC.

“We have 57 councils, but the number of aspirants is over 400, and all of them can’t sit in office,” the party stated, noting that the unity achieved through consensus would boost its chances of winning all elective seats during the state polls.

The Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Babatunde Ogala, SAN, at a recent stakeholders’ forum, announced that the primaries would be conducted through indirect voting.

“The constitution recognizes direct, indirect, and consensus primaries, but for this council primary, we are adopting indirect primaries,” Ogala stated. He added that the electoral body, comprising delegates, has already been constituted.

He noted that the designated venue for chairmanship primaries is the APC Secretariat in Ogba, where all aspirants are expected to converge with only one agent each. He also disclosed that 38 chairmanship aspirants had either been disqualified or voluntarily withdrawn from the race ahead of the July 12 council polls.

At the stakeholders’ forum, key party leaders, including Chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), Tajudeen Olusi, Deputy Governor Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, and Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mudasiru Obasa, called on aspirants and their supporters to embrace peace to sustain the current unity and ensure a seamless exercise.

In his address, Olusi urged the aspirants to cooperate with the party leadership, emphasizing the importance of consensus in the political process.

“We are here to advise you. Since the early days of our democracy, it has always been through consensus. With patience and support, there will be a way out. That is why wisdom is applied in politics,” Olusi remarked.

The Publicity Secretary of APC, Lagos chapter, Seye Oladejo, assured that the primaries would be held under tight security to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

A visit by Vanguard to the APC Secretariat at Acme, Ogba, on Friday confirmed the presence of Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives and Mobile Policemen of the Lagos State Police Command stationed at strategic positions.

The arena for the primaries has been fully organized, with election materials prepared and security protocols tightened in anticipation of a smooth and incident-free exercise.