There have been report of a brewing crisis within the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress ahead of the July 12 local government elections, as many chairmanship aspirants and party leaders have kicked against what they described as a plot to impose candidates.
The aggrieved members and leaders, drawn from various local government areas and local council development areas, accused key figures within the party of attempting to sideline grassroots democracy by handpicking candidates rather than allowing a level playing field.
The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission had, in April, released the timetable and guidelines for the commencement of the electoral process for the 57 council chairmanship seats and 376 councillorship positions spread across the state’s 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs.
The announcement came as the tenure of the current local council officials is set to end in July.
According to report gathered the party pushed for the adoption of consensus in selecting candidates for the party’s council primaries, scheduled for Saturday (today).
Following the party’s decision, report gathered that party leaders in various LGAs set up internal committees to screen aspirants and streamline those to be adopted as consensus candidates.
The situation is said to have led to protests in some local councils, with party members alleging subversion of the democratic process.
However, the move has sparked outrage among some aspirants and party mjembers, who allege that the process was being used to impose preferred candidates rather than allowing for fair competition.
The situation is said to have led to protests in some local councils, with party members alleging subversion of the democratic process.
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