Those who watch the popular comedy programme, Fuji House of Commotion, created by the late Amaka Igwe, should be getting ready for the political version. And here is why: The 2015 elections may witness the re-enactment of that in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos – except something is done urgently to arrest the situation. Commotion and confusion are gradually taking over the party. YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine investigations revealed that notwithstanding the pockets of denial being put up by some chieftains of the party, APC is indeed heading for an explosion. “So many things had been going wrong in the party before now. But the final straw that may break the camel’s back is the (alleged) plan to smuggle Akinwunmi Ambode into the Government House in 2015 as the governor…We are going to resist that with everything we have. Asiwaju (Bola Ahmed Tinubu) has succeeded with a lot of things in the party, but this is going to be an exception”, one of them told us. “This is not like years back when he did it with Fashola. Now, our eyes have opened. You can’t just bring somebody from anywhere and impose him on us. No; that is not going to work this time. Or is Asiwaju saying that no one in our caucus can succeed Fashola? Even if that is the case, he should at least give us a level – playing ground. We have staked a lot for him already, but rather than appreciate our loyalty, he keeps going outside to get people and impose them on us. Which we don’t think is fair”, he further fumed.
Already, some very close members of the Asiwaju kitchen cabinet have started kicking. Not just internally, but also publicly; which is unlike before and a clear sign that something is seriously wrong somewhere. The party’s National Legal Adviser and a former commissioner in the state, Dr. Muiz Banire, recently spoke out about this. In an explosive interview he granted, he warned the party against any form of imposition. Also, a leading governorship aspirant in the state, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, in an interview with YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine, equally warned about the dire consequences of giving any aspirant a preferential treatment. But beyond that, other aggrieved members of the party are not stopping at just voicing out their displeasure. They are also regularly meeting and working on how to circumvent the imposition of anybody on them. They allegedly meet somewhere in Ikeja and one of their resolutions so far is to insist on primaries. And if peradventure that is truncated, they will present a consensus candidate. One of the names being touted for this is said to be a medical doctor. The other extreme decision which they are also toying with is quitting the party en masse for another. “That, of course, will be our extreme resort, which we don’t pray for”. Another angry chieftain of the party told us that if care is not taken, this is going to be Tinubu’s last political dance.
“Except this raging issue is handled with wisdom, we may be seeing the end of Tinubu’s political reign in 2015. I don’t know whether you are aware that even Fashola (Babatunde, his successor) is not in support of what is happening. Not even Aregbe (Rauf Aregbesola, Osun governor, who is one of his closest allies). Of course, Muiz and co have voiced out their displeasure already. I even heard that Oba Rilwan Akiolu has waded in. But no truce has been reached yet. Don’t forget, the Oba also contributed to this when he publicly endorsed Ambode”.
So far, there are about a dozen APC members interested in governing Lagos in 2015. However, the strongest contenders are Ganiyu Solomon, a serving senator and former LG chairman; Leke Pitan, a medical doctor and erstwhile commissioner in the state; Femi Amzat, a serving commissioner; Akinwunmi Ambode, an accountant whom many believe has been anointed by Tinubu and Akiolu; Tola Kasali, another ex commissioner and Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly.
Ambode, whose candidacy has been generating so much furore, retired as the Accountant General of the state. In his 50s and educated at the University of Lagos, his state of origin has again been mirred in controversy. While some say he is from Epe, Lagos State, others are insisting that he is from Ondo State.