The incumbent Chairman of Apapa local government area of Lagos State Hon. Elijah Owolabi Adele has been accused of nursing destabilisation agenda against the ruling party in his local government over his failure to clinch the party ticket at the primary election of Saturday, 29 May, 2021.
It was also discovered that he has been hobnobbing with a former senator and a close ally of former Governor Ambode to procure a court injunction against his current Vice Chairman who is the candidate of the party.
In a response to his tirade of attacks against the state chairman of the party, who is also a resident of the local government, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, The Apapa Liberation team (ALT) in a press release signed by its Publicity Director, Comrade Lanre Owosheni stated that Hon Adele has been running from pillar to post to destabilise the party over his failure to clinch the party ticket.
In a letter titled RE:TUNDE BALOGUN IN MANIPULATION AND THUGGERY MESS”, ALT stated that the council chairman became uncouth and arrogant immediately he became the council boss and has continued to deride and malign the character of both the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; and that of the state chairman, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, those the group claimed “brought him from nobody to somebody”.
According to ALT, “In situating the record perfectly, Adele who was assisted to the seat of governance by the leaders of our party, had turned back to insult, malign, slander and cast aspersions on noble men who helped him to political relevance”.
The group further stated that a day to the primary election, he imported fake party members and camped them at the secretariat of the local government and that the following day, the imported thugs started brandishing weapons to scare away genuine and authentic party members who resisted them and a stampede ensued which made the electoral officers run for their lives and reported the incident at the state secretariat.
ALT stated that the party in its wisdom opted for the indirect primary option to pick its candidates which is also a recognised mode of picking candidates.
“On the last primary election in Apapa Loca government, Hon Adele has gone to town to paint a picture of how he will use our leaders to secure a second term and dump them afterwards. The information however leaked, but we took it as half truth or outright falsehood, but to our consternation, he imported armed thugs into the local government and camped them inside the local government. On the day of the primary those thugs he mobilised, who slept in the council Secretariat, whom he gave huge sum of money, moved into the streets brandishing dangerous weapons thereby threatening the lives of genuine party members who were out to effect political change in our local government, this degenerated to serious altercations between his team and ours, thus a stampede ensued,” ALT claimed.
Continuing, the group said, “however in our party’s constitution, there is a provision for indirect primary of the direct option fails. So our knowledgeable party leaders opted for the indirect mode in the face of threat to public peace by the Adele imported thugs, and this didn’t go down well with him as he has assured his godfather and his coterie of hired thugs that he will clinch the ticket by all means necessary relying on money. Though he put money on ground to prosecute the primary, our resolute party members vehemently rejected his greek gift knowing quite well that it will be another four years of slavery under this wicked and arrogant council boss”.
ALT also stated that having lost the primary election, he has been running from pillar to post allegedly spending the council fund as his personal money, yet he has been meeting brick wall since his game plan has been exposed.
“Let it be known that he is already negotiating with another party to be its candidate in the July 24 election, relying on his fake popularity and the council fund as well as series of attack on the party chairman, Alhaji Tunde Balogun and discredit the APC.
“Secondly he has concluded plans to drag the party (APC) to court, so that a restraining order will be procured by him to prevent the party candidate from contesting the election so that he will have clear victory.
ALT called on the leadership of the party to use internal mechanism to deal with this recalcitrant council boss before he wrecks havoc as the party remains the best and well positioned to take the local government to greater heights.
