APC Primaries: Sanwo-Olu wins reelection ticket as party bars his challengers from contest

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has won the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 elections.

The governor was declared winner of the exercise, which his challengers were prevented from partaking in.

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A former Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources in the state, Mr. Wale Oluwo; and a former Permanent Secretary in the state’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Abdul-Ahmed Mustapha, obtained forms for the exercise, but were not granted access to Mobolaji Johnson Arena (Onikan Stadium), venue of the primaries.

Adamu Yuguda, chairman of the five-man electoral committee, said only the incumbent governor was cleared for the exercise.

Mr Yuguda said: “We are aware that three aspirants bought forms for Lagos state. Three accredited for the screening. One was cleared, two were not cleared.

“So, as we speak, the other two aspirants have not been cleared by the screening committee and by the appeal committee.
“We are only attending to those that have been cleared, the aspirant that has been cleared by the two committees.”

But responding, Oluwo, one of the aspirants, said, “The one-sided Congress, which excluded all the other aspiring delegates that bought the APC Delegates Nomination Forms, was conducted in gross violation of the APC Electoral guidelines, APC Constitution and the Electoral Act. The Lagos State APC State Exco, headed by one pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, is complicit in the exercise of this blatant rape of democracy in APC Lagos.

“We also note that the Screening Committee, which was inaugurated by the APC National Headquarters to screen all Governorship Aspirants in Lagos State, has refused to publish the results of the screening exercise as at the time of this press release. The approved Election Guidelines of the APC mandates the Screening Committee to release its results within 24 hours of concluding the screening exercise, so as to give participating aspirants an opportunity to appeal the outcome of the screening at the APC Screening Appeals Committee.

“I cannot understand why the Screening Committee chose not to contact the aspirants screened by them, either by phone call, text message, written letter, or any other means of communication, considering their decision to withhold the results of the screening. This is a serious breach of aspirants’ fundamental rights to fair hearing, as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution.”