Lagos APC expels two members after their emergence as APM candidates

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expelled two former aspirants for the Lagos State House of Assembly, Ganiyu Egunjobi and Azeez Yusuf, over alleged anti-party activities and disloyalty to the party.

The party announced the decision in a statement on Wednesday, accusing the two politicians of abandoning the APC after failing to secure its tickets for the Agege Constituencies I and II seats and subsequently obtaining nomination from another political party.

Mr Egunjobi, a former chairman of Agege Local Government Area, and Mr Yusuf, popularly known as Ninolowo, recently emerged as candidates of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) for the two constituencies ahead of the 2027 Lagos State House of Assembly election.

The development is the latest fallout from the APC’s nomination process in Agege, which generated controversy after the party presented candidates different from the politicians who had initially claimed victory in the May primaries.

How the disputes started

Mr Egunjobi contested the APC primary for Agege Constituency I, while Mr Yusuf contested the primary for Agege Constituency II.

After the exercises, both men disputed the outcome of the nomination process.

Mr Egunjobi, in particular, publicly rejected the result announced by the party for Constituency I, alleging that the votes recorded at the various voting centres showed that he had won the primary.

The APC eventually listed Gbenga Abiola as its candidate for Agege Constituency I and Sakiru Enimakure for Constituency II.

Mr Egunjobi and Mr Yusuf subsequently left the APC and obtained the APM tickets for the two constituencies in September. The move means Mr Egunjobi will now contest against Mr Abiola, while Mr Yusuf will face Mr Enimakure in the 2027 Assembly election.

The two politicians have also said their decision to leave the APC was based on their experience during the party’s primary process. They denied reports linking their defection to Lagos House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa.

APC: They violated party rules

In its latest statement, however, the Lagos APC said the two politicians should have accepted the outcome of the party’s internal process or pursued the avenues of redress available under its constitution and the law.

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Instead, the party said, they sought nomination from another political party within the same electoral cycle.

The APC said such conduct constituted anti-party activity and a breach of the obligations attached to membership of the party.

It said it had invoked Article 9(5)(II) of the APC Constitution, as amended in 2022, to expel the two former members.

The party also rejected their resignations, arguing that their departure from the APC came only after they had secured alternative political platforms.

“Rather than respect the outcome of the Party’s internal democratic process and remain loyal to the platform on which they sought election, the two subsequently proceeded to obtain tickets from another political party.

“A member who loses an internal contest is expected to accept the outcome or pursue legitimate avenues of redress provided by the Party and the law-not to undermine the Party by seeking an alternative platform within the same electoral cycle.

“Their purported resignations from the APC are therefore viewed by the Party as nothing more than a belated and face-saving attempt to pre-empt the consequences of their actions. The Party’s position is that membership of the APC cannot be treated as a convenient political garment to be worn during a primary and discarded immediately after an unsuccessful outcome,” the statement read.

According to the APC, membership of the party cannot be treated as something that can be abandoned after an unsuccessful primary in order to pursue the same electoral ambition elsewhere.

The party said members who lose internal nomination contests are expected either to accept the outcome or seek redress through the mechanisms provided by the party and the law.