The Ward Congress Election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) o Lagos has been marred by violence and mass printing of fake APC membership cards.
The election which was slated to hold on Saturday, May 5, across the seven political wards of the council area could not hold as hoodlums hijacked the exercise which left scores of party members brutally injured.
The party secretariat situated at Onawale Street, Isolo was vandalized by the hoodlums as congress officials were chased out of the complex.
At Okota and Ire-Akari Wards where the congress election were expected to take place, many party members sustained varying degrees of injuries as hired thugs and opposing cult groups wielded guns, knives, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons to outwit each other. In the ensuing violence, many party members were scared away from voting as many scampered for safety.
Again, it was yet another spectacle of violence at Metropolitan College where Ishagatedo/Ire-Akari ward congress was slated to hold as opposing cult groups engaged each other in a free for all which left about five people seriously injured.
During the free for all, former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Hakeem Muniru was arrested and handcuffed by OP. MESA operatives. He was reportedly taken to Area D Command at Mushin for questioning.
At Akinbaiye, the exercise could not take place following allegation of mass printing of fake APC membership cards by a group suspected to be loyal to the State Chairman. The fake membership cards were reportedly distributed to some non-party members recruited for the exercise.
It would be recalled that APC National Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his address at the recent stakeholders meeting of the party had directed leaders and elders of the party in all the trouble zones to come together and harmonise various interest groups within their respective local government so as to have a hitch-free congress.
Tinubu’s directive was predicated on the need to preserve cohesion and unity of the party ahead of the 2019 general election.
The National Leader had listed Oshodi/Isolo, Amuwo-Odofin, Alimosho, Ajeromi/Ifelodun, and Surulere as some of the trouble zone. He had enjoined the leaders in these local governments to work together to ensure success. The directive was carried out by all the local government except in Isolo LCDA where the State Chairman of the party, Chief Henry Oladele Ajomale comes from.
According to sources, the orgy of violence that greeted the intra-party exercise in Isolo was avoidable if Ajomale and other leaders in the area had agreed to meet to harmonise the various interest groups ahead of the congress.
But this was not to be as Ajomale and his group reportedly stayed away from the leaders and elders meeting called by a Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) member, Chief M.A. Taiwo four days to the congress.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode on Saturday commended the peaceful process members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) conducted its ward congresses across the 377 wards in the State.
Ambode, who participated in the exercise at his Ward A6 in Luyepo Primary School, Papa-Epe in Epe Local Government Area, lauded the party members for displaying high level of maturity in the conduct of the party activities.
He said members of the party who turned out in enmasse to exercise their civil responsibility confirmed the fact that the APC is a cohesive party.
“All our great party members in Ward A6, you have done well for turning out in this number to be part of the APC ward congresses. I want to use this medium to thank you all for the orderliness and peaceful way you conducted yourself.
“We are members of the same family and that is why we are doing it in line with our constitution. The party agreed that it is either we do election or we vote by way of consensus and that what we have done peacefully today.
“I want to use this opportunity to say a big thank you to all our members across the state that performed this electoral process across the 337 wards in the State.
“We know that the APC can get stronger if there is always peace and consensus among all our members. Like in Epe division, elections have been conducted peacefully in all other divisions. This is the most beautiful ward in Lagos State presently.
“I commend all our newly elected officials. We are very lucky to have observers from INEC who have just witnessed the process of the ward congress here,” Ambode said.
Ambodse with other APC chieftains at Epe
Sea of heads at the Epe APC congress