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Tag: Council

  • Lagos APC submits candidates’ list for council polls

    Lagos APC submits candidates’ list for council polls

    The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has received the list of candidates from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest the chairmanship and councillorship seats in next month’s local government elections.

    A statement yesterday by the party’s state elections committee chairman, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, said the party had passed the list to the electoral agency.

    Afikuyomi expressed confidence in the ability of the candidates to win the available seats because “there is no opposition to the APC in Lagos”.

    The election committee chairman said the popularity of the party accounted for the skirmishes that accompanied its primaries.

    He said: “The process of choosing candidates has been successfully completed. Across the 20 local government areas, 37 LCDAs and 377 wards in the state, APC chairmanship and councillorship candidates have emerged.

    “Our party’s constitution provides for direct and indirect primaries to pick the candidates. In its wisdom, the APC leadership in Lagos opted for a combination of primaries and consensus, in compliance with the provisions of Articles 20 (ii)a, (iii)a and 21(xi) of the APC Constitution.

    “That was done to ensure the emergence of real grassroots leaders and knowledgeable party men and women who can positively impact the lives of the people at the local level, who can make the much-needed difference in governance and deliver dividends of democracy to our people.

    “This is what we need to complement the wonderful work Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has been doing.

    “The process started from a stakeholders’ meeting, where the decision on the modality for the election and other decisions were taken and ratified. However, this is not to say the exercise has been without hitches. These are normal with any democratic arrangement. No system is devoid of problems and challenges. No system is infallible.

    “In the extant case, in a few areas where there have been disagreements arising from the process, these have been resolved through the conflict-resolution mechanism we put in place.

  • Police arrests council chairman, others over council secretary murder

    The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested the transition chairman of Ukanafun Local Government Area, Mr. Abasiono Udomfu and three others over the killing of the council’s secretary, Mr. Ime Atakpa.

    An aide to the chairman, Mr. Akaninyene Ibout, was said to have been arrested on Wednesday after the visit of the wife of the Akwa Ibom State governor, Mrs. Martha Emmanuel to inaugurate building for widows on Tuesday.

    A sister to Atakpa’s wife, who did not want her name in print, told newsmen  in Uyo yesterday that Udomfu, during Emmanuel’s visit, raised up his hands saying: “God knows that my hands are clean concerning the murder of the LG secretary.”

    She said that after the chairman had made the declaration, Ibout also said that his hands were clean and that he did not have anything to do with the killing of the late LG secretary.

    It was learnt that the police intelligence who were in the area at the time they were making the statements, arrested Ibout on Wednesday.

    He was said to have named the chairman and two other people of involvement in the alleged murder of the council secretary.

    Our correspondent gathered that Udomfu had made attempts to bribe the policemen that arrested him, asking them not to disgrace him.

    The two other people were said to have been arrested from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. They were said to have confessed to the police that Udomfu gave them N300,000 to kill the LG secretary.

    On April 16, 2017, four unidentified gunmen shot and killed Atakpa.  He was said to have been shot when he was in his farm, an Integrated Farming scheme, which is a boys’ quarter in his house in Ukanafun on that date.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Chukwu Ikechukwu, who confirmed the arrest, explained that all the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.

    He said: “Investigation is on and soon as we conclude it, the matter will be charged to court.”

  • Emmanuel: I won’t borrow at high interest rate for council poll

    Emmanuel: I won’t borrow at high interest rate for council poll

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has said his administration will not borrow from banks to conduct local government election due to high interest rates.

    The governor urged political parties to be patient on the conduct of the poll.

    He said his administration was not in a hurry to conduct the election because of the prevailing tight economic realities.

    Emmanuel spoke on Saturday night while addressing reporters on his second year anniversary in office and this year’s Democracy Day.

    The governor said, Akwa Ibom was not the only state having a challenge with the tier of government.

    He said once the economy improved, the government would conduct the poll.

    Since Emmanuel became governor in May, 2015, he has not conducted a local government election.

    The tier of government has been handled by transition or caretaker chairmen through committees.

    Emmanuel said: “It’s because of the prevailing economic situation, it’s because of recession. Once the economy improves, we will conduct elections. This government will not borrow money with high interest rate to conduct local government elections.

    “What if you set up a local government council and you don’t have money to run the council? In recession, you carefully direct where money should go to. Since the economy is improving, all that will be done.”

    The governor said his cardinal programmee on industrialisation was being pursued with vigour, adding that it had led to the inauguration of some industries and ground-breaking for new ones to mark his second year in office.

    He urged the people to show appreciation to his administration’s efforts at establishing small and medium scale industries.

    According to him, in many developed economies, such ventures drive their economies, create wealth and reduced unemployment.

    Emmanuel said: “In many economies, it is the small and medium scale industries that drive the economy. I keep wondering when I hear people criticising the establishment of the pencil and toothpick industries. Akwa Ibom people should be proud to be the first manufacturers of these products. The Federal Government has been spending millions of naira to import pencils.”

  • APC, PDP: warming up for council polls

    APC, PDP: warming up for council polls

    The proposed local government election in Lagos State is generating interest and controversy among the stakeholders. Given the track record of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state in the last 18 years, the contest for chairmanship and councillorship appears to be within the ruling party. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE examines why other parties may take the back seat in the election. 

    The local government election’s scheduled for July 20 in Lagos State. Politicians are in high spirits The scramble for tickets is visible across the 57 councils. The electorate have equally embraced it as an opportunity to choose those who will pilot the affairs of the councils in the cosmopolitan city.

    In line with the time table released by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), political parties were expected to commence campaign between April 15 and July 20. Also, nomination forms were expected to be submitted to the commission by the parties between April 19 and May 22.

    But, it has been observed that most of the political parties have not registered their presence to battle for the council polls. The chairman of LASIEC, Justice Ayodunde Phillips, had appealed to the electorate to show the highest level of decorum during and after the elections. She said eligible voters should obtain their Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) to enable them exercise their franchise.

    As a prelude to the grassroots polls, LASIEC organised stakeholder’s political forum across the three senatorial districts, to sensitise the public about the importance of the elections.

    As part of the reform to encourage grassroots democracy, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode signed an amendment by the Lagos State House of Assembly to remove the ambiguity between the state law and the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

    With the race over who controls the third tier of governance now in earnest, stakeholders have been thrown into frenzy, as politicians have been busy, doling out their manifestos to convince the electorate.

    Observers say most of the parties are not sticking out their necks in the contest. They say the scene is dominated by the All Progressives Congress (APC). This is creating some worries whether Lagos is degenerating into a one party state. This fear was heightened by the recent defection of some PDP members in the Lagos House of Assembly.

    In most of the local governments, majority of the posters on the streets are those of APC aspirants. Before the close of submission of forms in the APC, no fewer than 1,780 councillorship aspirants and 344 chairmanship aspirants had submitted their letters of interest.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the closest rival to the APC in the political terrain, has not been able to muster half of the number the APC paraded. Other parties don’t even have aspirants contesting in the polls.

    No doubt, the factional crisis in the PDP is largely responsible for the low participation in the election. Sources at the PDP said many aspirants are confused, because they do not know which faction to pitch their tent and where to obtain their forms. For instance, factional chairman, Moshood Salvador, who occupies the party’s secretariat at Shogunle, Lagos, believes he is the authentic executive officer in the state.

    The factional chairman, Hon. Segun Adewale, recently stormed the secretariat to prevent the Salvador-led executive from selling the interest forms to interested members. The leadership crisis in the party at the national level is having a ripple effect in the Lagos chapter. The Salvador-led executive, which is the one loyal to the Senator Ahmed Makarfi group, is looking forward to favourable Supreme Court judgment to rescue it from the quagmire it has found itself.

    Salvador is in a tight corner because the Adewale-led group, which is allied to the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led National Executive, is the faction that enjoys the backing of the law. Adewale said he has the blessing of the party chairman to act by compiling and forwarding names of interested aspirants for the poll to Abuja for screening.

    Adewale said: “I have the approval of Senator Sherriff to represent the PDP and the man has reached out to all. We are aware that Makarfi represents the APC in Lagos. Our party’s constitution has clearly spelt out how the candidates for the council polls would emerge.

    “The constitution says that it is the national body that will send names of eligible candidates to LASIEC or INEC and not even me. We are aware that Makarfi is still waiting for Supreme Court judgment, so he cannot direct Salvador to act in Lagos. It is obvious that Salvador and his group are following the instruction of former Deputy National Chairman (Southwest), Bode George.

    “We have a national chairman in Abuja, but what I want to do is that I will reach out to chieftains of the party in Lagos, so that we can submit one list. We have to abide by our constitution; I don’t know why Makarfi is asking Salvador to act in Lagos, because whatever action he takes concerning the Lagos council polls is from Bode George. I have to submit the letter of those contesting to the national body where those to contest will be submitted to LASIEC.”

    But, the party’s Organising Secretary, Taiwo Kuye, has dismissed Adewale’s position as idle and unserious. He said the party had moved beyond what the factional Lagos party chairman was propagating.

    He added that the PDP is in high spirit to participate in the council election, noting that the party primary was fixed for May 24 and 25. He said an encouraging number of aspirants had indicated interest in the council polls.

    He said: “The primary will be transparent and I am sure after the exercise everybody will be happy. The party is going into the contest as a family and we have already commenced the mobilisation to storm the grassroots polls.”

    Salvador also reiterated the party’s readiness for a contest, noting that the PDP is not afraid of a fight. He urged the state government to create an enabling environment where all the actors would freely canvass for votes without any hindrance.

    He explained that the polls were long overdue, stressing that Lagosians were enthusiastic to elect those that would serve them at the local level. His words: “We are not afraid of a fight; it is not a fight in the sense of physical combat, but a fight in terms of competition for popularity and there is no doubt that the PDP is popular with the people.”

    Speaking at a forum in Shomolu, Lagos, Hon. Rotimi Olowo said the huge number of aspirants on the platform of the APC was due to the party’s performance. He said the party had delivered on its campaign promises, adding that those who expect the party to implode because of the huge number of aspirants should bury the thought.

    Olowo maintained that the party would conduct an acceptable and transparent primary. He said: “Definitely, the APC will conduct its primary with the support of the umpire. LASIEC is the umpire and this is not the first time the party would be conducting primaries. We will try as much as possible to be democratic.

    “That is to say that every aspirant should go to the poll. If you are popular, relevant and known, the people will vote for you. We don’t want people who will get our mandate and later abandon their promises. I want to say that it is only popular aspirants that the people will support.

    “Such a person must conform with some level of integrity, so we are supporting that every aspirant should go to the primary to test their popularity. Some people will just sit back and expect that some godfathers will push them for the position.

    “That is what is killing Nigeria today. I make bold to say that those that believe in god-fatherism are the ones destroying the polity, because if you believe that the votes of the masses will count them you must be masses oriented.”

    Other parties, including the National Conscience Party (NCP), the Accord Party (AP) and the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), were indifferent to the polls. The parties believe that LASIEC and Lagos State government have an accord which is detrimental to the interest of other political parties.

    They say the nomination of some members to LASIEC board was intended to prepare the ground for the rigging of the council polls. The opposition parties had criticised the move, expressing dismay that the coming polls will not conform to the wishes of the people.

    Lagos PDP Publicity Secretary Taofiq Gani said the inclusion of Lateef Raji as LASIEC Commissioner to conduct the council polls was a resolve to gag the umpire to do the APC bidding. He said: “Lateef Raji has always been a card-carrying member of party from the days of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the APC. He is unfit and improper to act as umpire in a contest in which the APC is involved.”

    Gani urged government to remove the APC members from the board of LASIEC and introduce neutral people to guarantee the transparency of the poll.

    Sources from the APC camp say as long as the primary is democratic that there will be no cause to worry.  They maintained that the election would be won by the APC in all the council.

    Lagos State APGA chieftain Campbell Umeh-Nzekwe said his party will fully participate in the council election. He said with the cosmopolitan nature of Lagos, people are going to vote for different parties.

    He said: “Lagosians will vote APGA because we have a good programme, our party is grassroots-oriented and nobody can deny us that. This time around we will win some councillorship and chairmanship positions.

    The Chairman of the Lagos State Labour Party (LP), Pastor Biodun Popoola, said 16 members of the party are contesting for chairmanship. He noted that the party has councillorship aspirants all over the state. He added: “We are prepared for the election. It is not going to be the APC or PDP show, because they have not impacted positively on the lives of the people with all the opportunities they have had. Lagosians are prepared to vote them out and elect us in view of our programmes which pro-people.”

  • No kidnapping in Ojokoro LCDA, says council chief

    The Sole Administrator of Ojokoro Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Dr Waleeh Ipaye, has said the council has not recorded any kidnapping incident in the last few years.

    This, Ipaye said, was due to synergy between the council and security operatives.

    He thanked Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for assisting the security agencies with tools to combat crime.

    Ipaye spoke during Community Day celebration held at Ifako-Ijaiye Mini Stadium, Ifako.

    He hailed the security agencies for ensuring peace in the area.

    “Security wise, we have not heard of kidnapping of any sort, either that of traditional leaders or other residents which is due to the necessary support and prompt assistance given to aid the discharge of duties of our security agencies,” he said.

    Ipaye urged the residents to be wary of happenings around them and report any suspicious move or action capable of causing chaos in the community to the security agencies.

    “I want you all to continue to support all the activities of this government as we are always ready to serve you better and ensure your well-being, which is paramount to our great party,  All Progressives Congress  (APC),” he said.

     

  • Council poll: Four feared dead at screening

    Four persons were feared killed yesterday at Silver Crescent, Surulere, over screening of aspirants for Local Government Chairmanship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    A fight reportedly broke out after the news got to the aspirants that some of them may not make the list.

    Some of the aspirants were said to have accepted the outcome until some hoodlums attacked one another on their way to Ojuelegba.

    Witnesses said the factions were dissatisfied with the result of the screening, noting that their preferred candidates may have been screened out.

    “What happened was that they held the APC screening here and a female aspirant came top. Before we knew, these guys started fighting and killing one another. They probably don’t like the woman’s face. Those fighting came from other areas because most of the people here were not involved in the matter,” a resident said.

    Abubakar, a trader under the Ojuelegba Bridge said: “The fight started between some area boys around AP filling station before it extended here. We just saw several guys coming with bottles, sticks and other objects. They also carried some guys already injured. Most of us ran away before they could descend on us.”

    A passer-by told The Nation that corpses littered the road as of 6:40pm.

    He said the fight was political, adding that no policeman was insight at that time. According to him, people scampered to safety as gun wielding hoodlums held sway. Contacted, Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Commander Tunji Disu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) said only one person was killed.

    He said: “Around 5pm, individuals returning from mock primary councillorship election at Surulere were attacked by unknown hoodlums in front of Guarantee Trust Bank, along Funsho Williams Avenue.

    “Patrol teams were quickly mobilized to the scene. The teams recovered body of a yet to be identified man, with gunshot injury. The body was photographed and evacuated to Mainland General Hospital, Yaba for autopsy. Effort is on to arrest those responsible.”

  • Firm, council donate to nursing mothers

    Firm, council donate to nursing mothers

    A firm, Hayat Kimya Nigeria Limited, manufacturers of Mofix diapers, and Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, Lagos have donated diapers worth thousands of naira to nursing mothers. No fewer than 100 women benefited from the gifts, with each going home with a pack of the product.

    At the event, held at the LCDA’s headquarters, its Sole Administrator, Hon. Ibrahim Adigun, said the partnership with the firm was aimed at boosting the health of babies in the area.  He said one of the cardinal objectives of his administration was to ensure that those at the grassroots felt its impact, adding that the beneficiaries were residents of LCDA.

    He said the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration harped on the welfare of the people which was what they were implementing at the council. He urged the people to support government’s activities regularly and be law-abiding.

    Hayat Kimyat Nigeria Brand Manager Mrs Oluwaseun Ayeni said her organisation’s diapers are the best in the country and on the continent, adding that it won an award last year to show for it. She asked the mothers if they had any problem with the product. They said no.

    However, one of them complained of its high price. Mrs Ayeni explained that it was due to the high cost of raw materials and the exchange rate. She said so far, they have not had cases of anyone tampering with the product.

    During the sensitisation by Mrs Adedotun Adesanya, she explained that Mofix diapers are unique because they are soft, have super elastic band and colourful. She also said they come in five sizes, features other diapers do not have.

    Some guests asked how they could secure the distributorship of the product to sell in the LCDA. They were referred to Mrs Ayeni.

     

  • Council gives out 50 JAMB forms

    Council gives out 50 JAMB forms

    Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA) has given out 50 Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) forms to youths.
    Its Sole Administrator Bayo Adefuye said the gesture was to ensure they return to school.
    According to him, the greatest legacy the council could bequeath to the youths is to ensure that they are educated.
    “An educated youth is free from ignorance, hooliganism and poverty. I am aware that many youths who were interested in furthering their education could not afford the cost of the JAMB form and our priority is to encourage the youths to go to school. That is why we embarked on this venture. We are organising coaching class to prepare them for the examination. It is not enough to obtain form; success at the examination is of concern to us,” he said.
    He urged the beneficiaries to excel in the examination, “because the percentage of those that gained admission into higher institutions will encourage us to do more for the other willing youths.”
    Adefuye has appealed to the eligible voters to go and collect their Permanent Voters Card (PVC).
    “This is an opening for those who missed the registration in the pass to get registered. Those who have just attained the age of 18 will also get registered in order to be able to perform their civic responsibilities during the July 22 council polls,” he said.

  • Amend constitution to guarantee council autonomy, says Akande

    Amend constitution to guarantee council autonomy, says Akande

    Local government councils will be accountable to their people, if they are elected. Caretaker committees are only accountable to their appointing authorities.

    A former Chief of Staff to Oyo State governor and Visiting Professor of Political Science at Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State,  Adeolu Akande,  has advocated local government autonomy as the panacea to the problem of local government administration in the country.

    Akande, who was a guest on a television programme monitored in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital at the weekend, said the local government system has failed to achieve the objective of grassroots development because of three factors.

    He listed these as lack of autonomy, direct financial allocation from the federation account and the failure to elect local government councils, explaining that the three factors boiled down to the issue of local government autonomy.

    “Local government councils will be accountable to their people, if they are elected. Caretaker committees are only accountable to their appointing authorities,” he said, explaining that it is when a government is accountable to the people that it is motivated to perform to the expectation of the people.

    He said the failure to make direct financial allocation to local government councils also inhibit local government performance.”The Joint State-Local government account system denies local councils the opportunity to determine projects that are relevant to their people. The situation where state governments award uniform projects for all local government areas is a negation of the principle of grassroots development that undergirds the creation of local councils as third tier of government,” he said.

    He suggested that the Joint State-Local Government account should be abolished while administrative guidelines are stipulated for the payment of teachers and other workers’ salaries as first line charge on local government accounts.

    Akande said the constitution should be amended to allow the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or a new national electoral body comprising representatives of states and political parties to conduct local government elections.

    He said the current system where ruling parties at the state level win all local government  elections that they conduct does not promote democracy, good governance and competent leadership at the local government level.”It is indefensible that no ruling party in any of the 36 states has ever lost a local government election in their state. This clearly makes a mockery of our democracy and there is need for an urgent review of this electoral embarrassment”, he submitted.

    Akande, who is also the Director of the Centre for Presidential Studies at Igbinedion University, said the conduct of local government  election by state governments had denied the third tier of government the opportunity to recruit competent and accountable leadership at that level. “The caretaker system has denied the people the opportunity of electing leaders of their choice at the local level. This is against the provisions and spirit of the 1999 Constitution,” he said, arguing that the conception of local government as a training ground for leadership at higher levels of government is lost because democratic tenets of governance are not allowed to blossom at the local government level.

    Speaking on the situation in Oyo State, Prof. Akande explained that the autonomy of local government could have been ensured, if local council elections had been held. He claimed that the governor had triggered the process of election twice but the process was truncated by court processes. “The governor triggered the process in 2011 but a court case instituted by the members of the state electoral Panel constituted by Governor Ladoja but dismissed by Governor Alao Akala resulted in a court injunction against the new Commission  constituted  by Governor Ajimobi.

    “The governor triggered the process for council elections again in 2016, but some parties aggrieved with provisions of the Local Council Development Authorities (LCDA’s) got a court injunction against the conduct of the election. He expressed the confidence that the resolution of the court case would restore local government autonomy in Oyo State.

  • Lagos council polls: APC, PDP renew rivalry

    Lagos council polls: APC, PDP renew rivalry

    Lagosians will go to the polls in July to elect council chairmen and councillors who will manage the affairs of the local governments for the next three years. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN looks at the chances of the political parties in the contest.

    The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has fixed local government elections for July 22. The announcement has put paid to the speculation that the government is not willing to conduct elections to fill the vacant positions in the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), which were dissolved in November 2014.

    Before the release of the election time-table, only two political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demonstrated their readiness for the polls, through subtle campaigns in different localities. It was like other parties had gone under. Analysts recalled that during the 2015 general elections, no fewer than 14 political parties participated in the state. The question is: where are the smaller parties?

    There is no indication that the following parties are preparing for the election: the Action Alliance (AA); the Alliance for Democracy (AD); the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN); the African Democratic Congress (ADC); the African Peoples’ Alliance (APA); the Citizens Popular Party (CPP); the Hope Party; the Kowa Party; the National Conscience Party (NCP); the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN); the United Democratic Party (UDP); and the United Progressive Party (UPP). They all fielded candidates for national and state elective offices in 2015. Why are they not showing interest in an election that is very close to the grassroots?

    Observers believe the election will be a straight fight between the ruling APC and the main opposition party, the PDP. The party had promised to use the council election to consolidate its political gain in the last general elections in which it won seven House of Representatives seats and seven House of Assembly seats. Its Chairman, Hon. Moshood Salvador, had boasted that his party would not only make a good impact in the election, but also to utilise the opportunity to chase the APC away from Alausa, the seat of power in Lagos State.

    The PDP chieftain claimed that the performance of the party during the last general elections was not a fluke.  He said: “We worked hard to win elections in areas where we won. Our candidates won on merit; we prevailed and convinced the electorate on the programmes of our party and the integrity of our candidates. Our performance had nothing to do with the money spent by former President Goodluck Jonathan, as some mischief makers have been saying. It is wrong for the APC to conclude that the alleged millions of dollars Jonathan brought to Lagos were responsible for our impressive performance.

    “The people of Lagos State are tired of the APC and they decided to have a change by voting for PDP candidates. We are going to use the same strategy for the local council election. We have started mobilising from house-to-house, to create awareness about the importance of the election.”

    But, with the recent developments in Lagos politics, the statement credited to Salvador may not stand the test of time. Analysts say the PDP has suffered a major setback that may have altered the equation and, so, it may not be able to give the APC a good run for its money. Such analysts say the defection of six out the seven PDP members in the state House of Assembly to APC amounts to a big blow, which has destabilised the party’s preparation for the July 22 contest.

    Lagos-based lawyer and public affairs analyst, Mr Monday Ubani has ruled out any impressive showing by the PDP in the coming polls. He said the PDP is almost dead, particularly in Lagos State. With the sterling performance of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, he is of the view that the PDP has no chance.

    Ubani doubts if the party will win a single chairmanship seat, because Governor Ambode’s performance in the last two years has made the APC more popular in the state. The ruling party has given a good account of itself, by fulfilling its promises to the electorates. The lawyer said: “Akinwunmi Ambode has endeared the APC to people who do not belong to the party; there is no part of Lagos that is not feeling the impact of Ambode’s administration.”

    Ubani said the antecedents of the PDP are working against it. His words: “Nigerians would never entrust the PDP with power; for 16 years, the party looted the treasury; mismanaged the economy and impoverished the people.”

    A political activist, Mr Tola Sawyer, puts it this way: “The two-year old administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has changed the face of Lagos. Developmental projects like road rehabilitation, drainages, fly-overs, street lightening cut across the state. He doesn’t discriminate against people who voted against him in 2015. In fact, Ambode has made Lagos residents to forget what party they belong, because of his performance.

    “There is no opposition for the APC in the coming local council poll. What will the PDP use to campaign? Is it looting of the treasury for 16 years that has impoverished Nigerians? The PDP has no chance in Lagos. The few seats won in 2015 general elections were as a result of Jonathan’s resort to bribe people with dollars. That will never work again in Lagos.”

    Sawyer advised the party leaders not to waste their time coming out to campaign, “because the party has incurred the wrath of the populace with the on-going revelations on how it looted the nation’s treasury. Nigerians are no fools. They know the party that has the interest of the common people at heart”.

    The PDP in Lagos State is polarised. What is happening at the national level is affecting the state chapter. There are three factions, namely: the Segun Adewale group, which is affiliated to Ali Modu Sheriff faction; the Bode George faction, which is loyal to the Makarfi group; and the Jimi Agbaje faction, which appears to be independent.

    With the division in the party, the questions being asked by observers are: Which faction would lead the PDP campaign? Which faction will present chairmanship and councillorship candidates? Which of the groups will LASIEC recognise? These are the issues that must be settled if the PDP must go into the election as a united party. Based on the reality on ground, Adewale seems to be the authentic chairman, because the Appeal Court has declared Sheriff as the PDP National Chairman.

    Adewale is not comfortable with the happenings within the fold, as he admitted that the party is in disarray. He admitted that he is a factional chairman, because the Lagos PDP has been factionalised into groups. He said: “There are so many factions; we have the Jimi Agbaje faction which does not have followership; we have the Bode George group and others. The various court cases raging at the national level are having ripple effects on the party.

    The PDP chieftain said: “I must say that the Lagos PDP under Moshood Salvador is not really ready to move forward. They are aware that some of us have a track record of political success. The truth is that it is the Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff camp that has been winning elections in the state. For instance, in 2015, I won four House of Representatives and six House of Assembly seats for the PDP.

    “We have Baba Kola Balogun with us; he won election in his polling booth, his ward and his local government. He equally delivered the neighbouring local governments. He delivered all the Badagry division.

    “But, the Senator Ahmed Makarfi camp headed by Bode George has not performed. He lost his polling booth, his ward and his local government. He lost everything that has to do with his senatorial district. I won seven local governments; the result is there for anybody to see.”

    Salvador disagreed with Adewale’s position on George’s electoral value. He recalled that when he was National Vice Chairman of the party (Southwest) that it defeated the Alliance for Democracy (AD) at the governorship election in five states. It was through the political sagacity of Senator Bola Tinubu that the APC was able to get some states back.

    He said: “George is there because he happens to be the highest party official in Lagos State. Therefore, he is the leader of the party. He is a Board of Trustees (BoT) member; this position elevates him above every other person and we must queue behind him.”

    On the PDP’s preparation for the poll, its spokesman, Mr Taofik Gani, said the party has been getting ready for the contest for some time and is battle-ready to face the ruling party. He said the council poll was supposed to hold during the tenure of former Governor Babatunde Fashola, but was delayed for reasons known to the leadership of the APC.

    He said the party is not demoralised by the defection of its members in the House of Assembly. “We are ready for the poll; we have been mobilising for the election,” he said.

    The APC Chairman, Chief Henry Ajomale, said his party is ever ready for the council election. He said: “We are prepared even if election is to hold tomorrow. Even though the APC is the ruling party, we are not relenting; we are still making efforts to consolidate on our popularity and acceptability by the good people of Lagos State.”

    Ajomale said it would be naive of the PDP to base its popularity on the few assembly seats it won in the last general elections. He added: “We knew what played out in that election. Former President Goodluck Jonathan relocated to Lagos in the build-up to the general elections. He abandoned Abuja, the seat of government, just because he wanted to win Lagos. I understand he came with about $700 million to prosecute election in Lagos.

    “Besides, Ifeanyi Ubah, a benefactor of the Jonathan administration bankrolled the party’s campaign expenses in Lagos. We are waiting to see if Jonathan and Ubah would still provide the financial warchest to Lagos PDP, as they did in the last general elections. I think it is wishful thinking for the PDP to say that the party is popular enough to win the forthcoming council poll. The APC will put them where they rightly belong.”

    Similarly, the Assistant Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr Abiodun Salami, is very optimistic that the party would win the election hands down. He said the APC’s victory is not negotiable, because it is a grassroots party.

    The image maker added: “As a party, we are prepared. We have been mobilising our people for the election. We are preparing like the Boys’ Scouts to win the election genuinely in Lagos, as we have always done.”

    A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Akin Ogunlana, has predicted that the election will be a walk-over for the APC. He said a lot of things are working in favour of the party. He said: “It is the only party on ground in the state; it is stable and winning more members every day.

    “As the ruling party, the incumbency factor is an added advantage. Above all Governor Ambode’s performance has won the council poll for the APC. Ambode has raised the bar of governance in Lagos. He has within two years turned Lagos around. But, the party must handle its primary with extra care to avoid protest vote.

    “The PDP is a divided house. The party can’t resolve its self-inflicted crisis between now and when the election would hold. How can they compete and win? The few House of Assembly seats won in 2015 was ephemeral. To me, there is no formidable opposition party to withstand the APC in Lagos State.”