•Lagos Speaker Mudashiru Obasa
Members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, in Agege and Orile-Agege, council areas, yesterday, urged President Bola Tinubu to halt the alleged imposition of political candidates by the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa.
The residents, who staged a protest last week, rejected the list of candidates recently published by the party for the upcoming local government elections, reports Vanguard.
They accused Obasa of handpicking stooges, including an alleged bedridden chairman candidate and his son, who was previously disqualified as vice chairman.
At a follow-up protest, yesterday in Agege, the APC-PCC members declared “Enough is enough,” accusing Obasa of monopolising all political positions in the area.
The protesters displayed banners with messages such as ‘Red Card, Obasa, Otoge’ and chanted songs pleading for President Tinubu’s intervention.
Chairman of the APC-PCC for Agege and Orile-Agege, Kamardeen Sabitu, recounted the long-standing battle against Obasa’s dominance.
Sabitu clarified that their protest was not a move to exit the APC.
He said: “There is no true democracy in Agege. This struggle started years ago, and we even lost one of our leaders in 2018 during a protest. 11 of us were jailed.
“One person cannot continue to dictate our political direction. We reject dictatorship and political imposition. We want inclusiveness.”
“We remain loyal party members and appreciate our leaders. We are fully behind President Tinubu. But Obasa must stop imposing candidates on us. He should convene a proper meeting with Agege leaders. So far, we’ve gathered over 2,000 signatures rejecting the imposed list.”
Another member of the council, Chief Saheed Obadina said: “We are loyal to Tinubu and support his second term, but Agege cannot be controlled by one man. Obasa must allow the people to choose.”
Also, Omolola Abiodun said: “The person presented as chairman has been bedridden for months. This is not democracy. There are more capable individuals in our community.”
