APC primary: Obasa urges tolerance, unity among aspirants ahead of Lagos council polls

Yomi Durojaye 

Ahead of the July 12 local government elections in Lagos State, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has called for unity and tolerance among political stakeholders in Agege and Orile-Agege, particularly those who contested in the recently concluded chairmanship primaries.

Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting held on Sunday at Central Primary School, Agege, Obasa appealed to aggrieved aspirants to trust the judgment of party leaders and accept the outcome of the primaries in good faith.

He acknowledged that all the aspirants were qualified to lead but emphasised that leadership positions are limited and governed by due process.

“There is none of the aspirants that is not qualified,” he said. “But we must understand that this is not a family inheritance—it is a political position governed by law and procedure, and only one person can occupy the seat at a time.”

Obasa urged aspirants who were not successful to channel their disappointment constructively within the party and not allow frustration to escalate into conflict.

“I was once a victim like some of you,” he added, “but it is important to keep our grievances within the party and move forward united.”

“But you must learn to exercise patience and have confidence in the process. You must believe in the judgement of our leaders. Everybody is qualified to be a leader but all of us cannot be a leader. Learn to trust the party and its leaders. We must not fight them. If we want to appeal, let’s start now.”

He observed that the forthcoming local government polls is a litmus  test on the 2027 general election reason all hands must be on deck to attain victory.

He added, “We must reach out to others. Let’s make them understand the need to come back. If they didn’t get it today, it will be their turn tomorrow. We must work together. We cannot do it alone. This isn’t the ultimate. We are much interested in the 2027 election. But we will use this to measure what will happen in 2027. This isn’t about the chairmanship and councillorship election; it goes beyond that. Our target is 2027. So, let’s bring everybody out to vote.

“If we can increase the number of votes, we had in 2023 during this local poll then we can go to rest. We must bring everybody together and the journey starts now. We must learn to tolerate one another. We must intensify our efforts and reach out to members of the community to come out to vote.”

Speaking on unity and cohesion among members of the party in the council areas, Chairman, Agege Local Government Area, Hon. Ganiyu Egunjobi, there are no aggrieved members in Agege noting that all members are one and united family.

He said, “We have only one APC in Agege. I don’t understand what you meant by disunity. All I understand is that during election period, many people aspire to the positions. There is nothing wrong in that. About 20 or 40 people can aspire for just one seat but after the primary, its important we bring ourselves together as one to support the party candidate.

“We have the crowd. These are party members. They came out of their desire, nobody forced them. All of these people you are seeing are from Agege. They are here for sensitisation. We want them to go back to their various homes and reach out to others on the need to come out to vote on July 12. There are no aggrieved politicians in Agege. We are one united family.”

His counterpart in Orile-Agege LCDA, Hon. Johnson Babatunde, described the gathering as solidarity and declaration of support to the party candidates.

He urged the winners at the primaries to be humble in victory while urging the losers to be sportsmanlike in defeat.

He said, “It’s a solidarity with our candidates in Agege local government and Orile-Agege LCDA. In Agege, our chairmanship candidate is Hon. Tunde Azeez while the vice-chairmanship candidate is Abdul-Ganiu Obasa.

“In Orile-Agege, we have Akinola Idowu as the chairman and Wale Fayemi as the vice-chairman. We are here in solidarity and to declare our support that we are solidly behind them. You can see the number of people that are here, that shows we have popular candidates on the ballot.”

Member representing Agege Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. (Dr) Wale Ahmed, described the gathering as an APC event to mobilise and sensitise the masses on the need to vote for the candidates of the party.

He stated, “The leadership of the party has successfully chosen candidates for the forthcoming local government polls. We are here to motivate and energise the people towards the July 12 local government elections.”

The NationOnline

Lagos inaugurates new Community Development Advisory Council

... COMMENDS CDAs, CDCs for selfless service

Pix 1:  L-R:  Dr.Wale Ahmed,  Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government & Community Affairs,Alhaji Azeez Amusat, newly inaugurated Chairman, Community Development Advisory Council, Mrs.Ganiyat Amusat and Cardinal Omolaja Odunmbaku, APC chieftain & Life Patron of the Community Development Advisory Council @ the inauguration of newly elected members of LSCDAC and valedictory service for immediate past Members @Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island on Friday.

Lagos State Governor, Mr.Babajide Sanwo-Olu has  extolled the zeal, passion and commitment of various Community Development Associations, CDAs and Community Development Committee, CDCs across the State, saying that the group had over the years exhibited high level of selfless service to the state government and their various communities.

Sanwo-Olu who gave the commendation through Lagos State Commissioner for Local,Government and Community Affairs Dr.Wale Ahmed at the inauguration of newly elected 23 members  of the State Executive, Lagos State Community Development Advisory Council (LSCDAC)at Eko Hotels & Suites on Friday.

He said that the fact that members of the group organised themselves in such an orderly manner and took ownership of government projects in their various domains without expecting any financial reward from government in return shows patriotic disposition that should be commended.

 Addressing the newly sworn-in officers, Sanwo-Olu charged them to continue in the path of transparency, probity and accountability as already enshrined in the practice of the council over the years.

He implored the exco to ensure that the activities and self-help projects of the CDAs are in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of the present administration in order to achieve the Governor's vision of a Greater Lagos.

He added that the role of Community Development Associations majorly is to complement government developmental activities at the grassroots. "As development partner, I enjoin you to focus in this direction and to achieve this, you must engage and communicate with every member of your community on how to complement Government's effort in our communities. He stated."

While thanking the outgoing executive for serving meritoriously and for contributing in no small measure to the peaceful coexistence across communities in the Centre of Excellence, the Governor reminded them of how the present administration relies on them for quality governance, stressing that they are very integral in delivering dividends of democracy to all residents of the State.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr Taiwo Salaam in his welcome address appreciated CDA members and executive for the success recorded at the recently concluded election conducted.

He stated that the efforts of all CDAs and CDCs across the State has made the goal of bringing the government closer to the people possible, saying that Lagos today, boasts of over 3,900 vibrant CDAs.

Similarly, Cardinal Omolaja Odumbaku, a member of Governor’s Advisory Council and Life Patron, Lagos State Community Development Advisory Council, LSCDAC, while giving his speech thanked Mr Governor for the honour he has given to CDAs in the state by recognising and including them in the T.H.E.M.E.S. Agenda of his administration.

He commended Dr. Wale Ahmed for using the experience he has garnered over the years in grassroots politics to contribute immensely to the development of Lagos state.

He also appealed to them to ensure that resources garnered at the CDAs are used meticulously for the purpose they are earmarked for, thus contributing to the State Government’s Agenda of making Lagos State a 21st century economy.

Odumbaku who is the life patron of LSCDAC advised members of the various groups to cooperate with their local government Chairmen, saying, that is how they can get the needed support for their various projects at the grassroots.

Speaking on behalf of the outgoing executive, the Chairman of the LSCDAC, Alhaji Tajudeen Adeniyi Quadri thanked the State government for given them the opportunity to serve the state and for the unflinching support.

He pleaded with the state government to extend same support to the newly elected executives so that they can sustain the tempo of development at the grassroots and even surpass their own achievements.

The newly elected LSCDAC Chairman, Alhaji Azeez Amusat while giving his acceptance speech thanked the state government for the platform created for CDAs to relate with government, just as he appreciated the Ministry for conducting a free and fair election which brought about his emergence as the new Chairman of LSCDAC.

He assured the state government that the Council will heed to the advice of the state government and ensure his tenure exemplifies  probity, accountability and transparency.

The Director, Community Development Department, MLG&CA, Mrs Sherifah Ewumi-Dosumu thanked the state government for its commitment to development at the grassroots.

She assured that her department through the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs under the leadership of the Commissioner, Dr Wale Ahmed, would work effectively to take Community Development Advisory Council in Lagos State to the next level of community development by giving continuous support and audience to all the CDAs.