Media Reports On ‘Beating Up’ Of APC Chairman Exaggerated – Spokesperson

Lagos, June 24, 2024 (NAN) The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State says the protest by some party members at its secretariat on Monday was exaggerated by some media platforms.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a section of the media had reported that some angry APC members from Alimosho Local Government Area on Monday protested at the party secretariat  and nearly beat up the State Party Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi.

Reacting, the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of APC, Mr Seye Oladejo described what happened as mere tempest in a teacup.

Oladejo said: “Our attention has been drawn to the news going round about a purported protest rocking Lagos APC.

“As much as this sensational piece of news might throw the opposition camp into premature celebration, the incident was a storm in a tea cup.”

According to him, since  assumption of office ,the State Chairman Ojelabi, has continuously sought peaceful co-existence of all party members in all parts of the state.

He added: “It is on record that he has , at various times, been able to successfully reconcile warring party members across board to ensure cohesion.

“The incident today was about a meeting conveyed to reconcile the different factions of the party in Alimosho Local Government Area, which was unfortunately infiltrated by uninvited thugs with ulterior motives.”

The party’s spokesman, however,said security agencies  promptly brought  the situation under control.

He said that the victory of the progressives in the state since the inception of the present dispensation had been due to life-changing policies by various responsive and responsible governments and strict compliance with party discipline.

“Lagos State APC has a time- tested mechanism for settling disputes and will not hesitate to wield the big stick if need be.

“The sacrifices of the founding fathers of the party to engender democracy cannot be sacrificed on the altar of indiscipline and intolerance.

“We acknowledge protests as an integral part of democracy, but it has to be within acceptable norms without infringing on the rights of others,” Oladejo said.

Speaking with NAN on the protest, Mrs Omotayo Oduntan, who represented Alimosho Constituency II at the Lagos State House of Assembly for three tenures, described the protest as unfortunate.

Commending Ojelabi for his peace moves, Oduntan said that the protest was instigated by  some leaders from The Mandate Movement ,who felt their people were not recognised at the reconciliation meeting initiated by the state party chairman on Monday.

Oduntan, a former Deputy Chief Whip, who was also at the secretariat for the meeting, said the Mandate Group and the Justice Forum were the two major groups within APC in Alimosho LGA.

According to her, some leaders and members of  Mandate Group (led by Alhaji Abdullahi Enilolobo) moved out of the group  to form the Mandate Movement (TMM).

She said Ojelabi invited  three people from each of the two major groups (Justice Forum and Mandate group)  to the Monday meeting with  some party officials  and council chairmen in local government area.

Oduntan alleged  that some leaders in Mandate Group felt they were not recognised and mobilised thugs to protest and disrupt the meeting.

*It is not we in Justice Forum that have issues. It is the Mandate;It is Mandate versus Mandate now.

“The people that instigated the protest were people who  left Enilolobo’s Mandate Group ,they were the people fighting   among themselves”,she said.

Oduntan said that the group should have  resolved the issues amicably among  themselves instead of using  violence and protest to vent their grievances.

“They should allow peace to reign. Nobody can be in government forever, Some will go and another set will come in. I don’t think that should bring a problem.

“If the party asked you to go and sit down after you have benefitted many times  from the party, let us try to sit down.

“Another  thing will come to you. There are thousands of people outside there who haven’t benefitted anything.

“We don’t want our people to suffer, because at the end of the day ,it is the people that will suffer. We should allow peace to reign,” (NAN) 

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