Lagos APC still reels from the ghost of 2015 guber primary

State’s legislators debunk claims of Tinubu’s imposition

The expectations that the perceived seed of discord purportedly sewn among members of the Lagos State ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2015 governorship primaries in the party would have died down by now is far from the reality.

Some members of the party are still aggrieved with the national leader of the party and the former governor of the state, Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the purported imposition of the incumbent governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and not allowing free and fair primary to take place.

This faceless group whose activities cannot be totally waved aside or overlooked have been described as having the capacity to cause trouble for the party on or before the 2019 elections if they are left unchecked.

Following the development, some lawmakers in the Lagos State House of Assembly, who spoke on the issue over the weekend described such claim that Tinubu singlehandedly imposed Ambode and some other elected officials of the state during the 2015 polls “as not only laughable but also dismissible.”

The chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy and Publicity, Tunde Braimoh frowned at the accusation as he also wondered why mischief makers would not accept their fate in politics whenever they lose in any contest.

According to him, “Some unscrupulous people would not stop accusing Tinubu of imposing candidates; meanwhile, these are people who have benefited immensely from the so-called imposition but are now complaining when the tide didn’t favour them.”

Braimoh said Tinubu has always been a democrat “during the 2015 governorship election, those insisted to contest the governorship primaries against Ambode actually did in an open contest on December 5 at Onikan Stadium. The proceedings and records of the primary are there for references”.

Braimoh who represents Kosofe Constituency 2 noted that the former governor piloted the development that the state is now experiencing. According to him, “When Tinubu became the governor in 1999, Lagos was at par with other states in terms of growth and development but he was able to move the state to a higher pedestal. He built on the state’s made Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which is currently equal to that of about 30 states. Lagos IGR was just about N600 million as at 1999 but it moved up to N7 billion before he (Tinubu) left in 2007.”

In another reaction, Abdulsobur Olayiwola Olawale, who represents Mushin Constituency 2 said it is absolutely unfair for some disgruntled politicians to continue to accuse Tinubu with what he has achieved in Lagos.

According to him, “If the Federal Government confess it adopted the template Tinubu used to develop Lagos to drive its present economic reforms, there is no doubt about the fact that the state is working.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Victor Akande from Ojo Constituency 1, while he urged for collective efforts to build Lagos called on the youths to be hard working to fulfill their destinies.