As preparations heighten for the July 12 local government elections in Lagos State, apex leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ojokoro Local Council Development Area (LCDA) have discredited a purported chairmanship list submitted to the state party chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, insisting it did not emanate from the recognized quorum of the council’s apex leadership.
In a strongly worded letter dated May 2, 2025, and jointly signed by Ipoola Omisore (former two-term member of the Lagos State House of Assembly) and Adisa Owolabi (immediate past member of the House of Representatives), the leaders unequivocally affirmed Mr. Mobolaji Sanusi as the consensus APC chairmanship candidate for Ojokoro.
The letter, titled “Clarifications on a purported Chairmanship list submitted to the APC State Chairman by an Ojokoro Group,” alleged that the contested list was submitted by Hon. Benjamin Olabinjo, representing Ifako Federal Constituency, through James Faleke, member representing Ikeja Federal Constituency.
“We state without equivocation that the said list does not emanate from a quorum of the Ojokoro Apex Council and should be discarded,” the letter read.
According to the leaders, the genuine Ojokoro Apex Council comprises 18 members, while the disputed list contained 20 names, raising questions about its authenticity. They accused the originators of padding the list with loyalists not officially recognized as apex leaders, describing it as an act of impersonation that should be sanctioned by the party.
The statement further revealed that Mobolaji Sanusi emerged as the preferred candidate during a series of earlier meetings aimed at building consensus and avoiding conflict within the party.
Out of the 18 apex council members, three—Fausat Olajokun, Rasheed Makinde, and Mobolaji Sanusi himself—were excluded from the voting process due to their interest in the chairmanship race, in line with the principle that one cannot be a judge in their own case.
Out of the 15 eligible leaders, 11 signed a resolution endorsing Sanusi, a decision the leaders describe as binding and representative of the will of the majority.
“No reasonable person can doubt the consensus in 11 out of 15 qualified leaders adopting Sanusi,” they wrote.
The signatories to the resolution include notable political figures such as:
Ipoola Omisore – Former Lagos State Assembly member
Chief Oluyomi Olaogun – Octogenarian and veteran politician
Otunba Aremu Akindele – Pioneer chairman of Ifako-Ijaiye LGA
Adisa Owolabi – Former House of Reps member
Emmanuel Olotu – Current member, Lagos State House of Assembly
Jelili Oseni – Incumbent APC LG Chairman, Ojokoro
Dr. Waheed Adeleke Ipaye – Former Sole Administrator, Ojokoro LCDA
Prince Adewale Bello – Former APC LG Chairman, Ojokoro
A.A. Amosun – Former APC LG Chairman, Ojokoro
Dr. Idris Salako – Former Lagos State Commissioner
HID Tijani – Incumbent Chairman, Ojokoro LCDA
Fatimo Oye-Balogun – Former woman leader, Ojokoro
They further maintained that all signatures were affixed voluntarily and without coercion, calling on Ojelabi and Faleke to avoid being manipulated by “self-serving” individuals within the Ojokoro APC structure.
“The surreptitious list hurriedly submitted to the party chairman was done in haste and in bad taste, with dire consequences of creating disunity and casting the party in a negative light,” they cautioned.
The apex leaders concluded by urging the party to dismiss the “afterthought” list of 20 as illegitimate and reaffirmed Mobolaji Sanusi as the authentic APC candidate for Ojokoro LCDA chairmanship.