The leadership of the All Progressives Congress in Agege and Orile-Agege areas of Lagos State has reaffirmed that Ganiyu Egunjobi and Azeez Ninalowo emerged victorious in the party’s primaries for Agege Constituency 01 and Agege Constituency 02 respectively.
Egunjobi, the immediate past chairman of Agege Local Government, was declared winner of the APC primary election for Agege Constituency 01 during the exercise conducted on Wednesday and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The election, which took place across the five wards within the constituency, reportedly saw Egunjobi secure 9,132 votes, while his former deputy and immediate past vice-chairman of the council, Gbenga Michael Abiola, finished behind in the contest.
According to a statement issued by Egunjobi’s media aide, Rotimi Sulyman, party leaders and stakeholders met on Thursday to review the outcome of the APC primaries conducted within the area.
The stakeholders’ meeting reportedly included traditional rulers, Baales, leaders of traders’ associations, artisans’ unions and prominent APC chieftains in Agege and Orile-Agege.
During the gathering, APC leader Adisa Adaranijo praised aspirants and party members for maintaining peace throughout the primary process.
He stated that the meeting was organised to assess the conduct and results of the party primaries in the area but criticised claims suggesting that Abiola had actually won the election.
Despite official declarations naming Egunjobi as winner, unofficial reports and claims circulating in some quarters alleged that Abiola emerged victorious in the poll.
Reacting to the reports, Adaranijo dismissed the claims as false and misleading.
“As you can see, we just rose from our meeting whose purpose was to discuss the outcome of our primaries so far. We thank God that it has been free of violence and met our expectations as leaders.
“However, we have been taken aback by beer parlour and hair salon gossip in which some clowns in certain quarters are misrepresenting the fact of the outcome of the Agege Constituency 01 poll, which Agege’s former council Chairman, Egunjobi, won in full view of INEC officials and other electoral officers who conducted the election.
“What remains the fact is that Egunjobi won hands down while the fiction in circulation claims Abiola is the winner,” Adaranijo said.
He also accused Abiola of distancing himself from party activities after his ambition to become council chairman failed, arguing that such a person could not have secured victory in the APC primary election.
“How would someone who, from the time his ambition to succeed Egunjobi as the council chairman was scuttled, developed zero emotion for the party members and leaders, playing no part in its activities, win the party’s primary. APC is too formidable to tolerate political truancy,” he said.
Adaranijo further alleged that Mudashiru Obasa played a major role in Abiola’s political rise over the years.
“If not for the benevolence of Obasa, he was nobody. The Speaker made him his Special Assistant, later Agege Council Sole Administrator, from where he became the Council SLG and subsequently the Vice-Chairman. Unfortunately, he’s now biting the finger that fed him at the prodding of some meddlesome interlopers,” he added.
Traditional leaders, including the Baale of Onipetesi/Ajakaye, Chief Yekini Ajakaye, the Baale of Dopemu, Chief Shuaib Ajani Afogunlowo, and Chief Imam Sheikh Abdulgafar Sulaiman Elediye, reportedly supported similar positions during the meeting.
Speaking separately during the APC governorship primary held at Agege Stadium on Thursday, Obasa also reacted to the controversy, suggesting that some aggrieved party members were behind the allegations surrounding the election.
“When you are a member of a party, you should always participate in all its activities. Why would anyone who isn’t here claim to be part of us?
“You can’t be absent from all primaries and still claim that you are with us. We have conducted House of Representatives, Senate, House of Assembly, and Governorship primaries, yet some disgruntled party members have consistently stayed away. It is not possible. They are not part of us,” Obasa stated.
Meanwhile, supporters of Abiola, popularly known as Agbelebu, rejected the official outcome of the primary election for Agege Constituency I.
Operating under the banner of the Agbelebu Solidarity Forum, the group described the announced result as fake and alleged that no genuine primary election took place across the approved voting centres.
In a statement signed by the forum’s Director-General, Jamiu Ademosu, supporters accused party officials of intimidation and harassment during the process.
“Agbelebu won the election fair and square. We reject this illegal result. It is against the spirit of democracy,” Ademosu said.
The group also claimed that legitimate APC members were denied the opportunity to participate freely in the exercise and insisted that no transparent election was conducted in the constituency.
The controversy has further intensified political tension within the Agege chapter of the APC as stakeholders continue to await the next phase of the party’s electoral preparations ahead of the general election.
What you should know
Agege remains one of the most politically influential areas within Lagos APC politics, with strong ties to prominent party leaders including Speaker Mudashiru Obasa.
The ongoing controversy surrounding the Agege Constituency I primary highlights recurring disputes that often trail party primaries in Nigeria, especially allegations of manipulation, intimidation and conflicting result claims.
Ganiyu Egunjobi and Gbenga Abiola are both influential figures in local politics, making the contest highly competitive.
The disagreement also reflects internal divisions within the APC structure in Agege as different political blocs position themselves ahead of the general elections and future leadership battles within Lagos State politics.
