24/09/2026
OBASA HAD NO HAND IN OUR DEFECTION TO APM — EGUNJOBI, NINOLOWO REACT
Former Chairman of Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State, Alhaji Ganiyu Kola Egunjobi and Hon. Oladapo Azeez Yusuf have dismissed reports linking their defection from the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa
The duo, who contested the APC tickets for Agege Constituencies I and II respectively, emerged as candidates of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, on Thursday.
Their defection came after a controversial APC primary in which Egunjobi lost the ticket to his former Vice-Chairman, Hon. Oluwagbenga Abiola Omaco , while Yusuf’s fellow aspirant, Hon. Enimakure Akindele Sakiru , was declared winner.
Egunjobi and Yusuf, however, insist that they won the primaries and were denied the tickets despite what they described as a transparent electoral process.
Their emergence as APM candidates subsequently fuelled speculation that Obasa, who is regarded as their political leader, had orchestrated their departure from the APC.
But the two politicians, in a joint statement, firmly rejected the suggestion, insisting that their decision was theirs alone.
They said they were mature politicians, adults and parents capable of taking independent decisions concerning their political careers.
The duo also argued that movement from one political party to another was not unusual in Nigerian politics, noting that prominent politicians had crossed party lines at different times.
They cited former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, who is now Director-General of the governorship campaign of the APC candidate, Obafemi Hamzat, as an example.
According to them, Obanikoro had previously left the ruling party for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and had at some point been critical of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
They therefore questioned why their own decision to leave the APC had become a subject of controversy.
“What is the issue with our decision to leave? Obanikoro once left the party and was even openly critical of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We did not leave then. We remained, strengthened the party and contributed to its growth. We had never contemplated leaving until we were confronted with what we considered grave injustice,” they said.
Egunjobi and Yusuf said they were particularly disappointed that the APC leadership failed to initiate any meaningful reconciliation effort after the disputed primaries.
They said the party’s leaders were fully aware of their grievances, having received petitions from them after the tickets were allegedly taken from them and handed to other aspirants.
According to the duo, despite their complaints and the seriousness of the dispute, neither of them was invited to a meeting where the matter could be properly addressed or resolved.
They also alleged that some party leaders had sought to justify the controversial outcomes by invoking the name of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The two politicians claimed that party members were being told that the decision to deny them and other aspirants in some local governments their tickets had come from Tinubu.
They, however, described the claim as an attempt to mislead party members and shield those responsible for the disputed decisions, insisting that they were not aware of any directive from the President authorising such action.
They said the repeated reference to Tinubu’s name had further deepened the frustration among affected aspirants who, according to them, had been left without any opportunity for genuine reconciliation.
The former APC aspirants maintained that their decision to join the APM was therefore a direct consequence of what they described as the denial of their mandates during the APC primaries.
They alleged that they emerged victorious in the primary elections conducted in their respective constituencies and that the exercises were witnessed by officials of relevant government agencies.
“We won the primaries in our respective constituencies convincingly. Officials of INEC, the DSS and other relevant agencies monitored the exercises, and we were declared winners at the venues.
“Yet, despite those results, the party leadership subsequently announced Abiola and Enimakure as its candidates. We consider that decision a profound injustice,” they said.
The duo said they subsequently explored the available channels within the party by submitting petitions and seeking redress, but were disappointed that the leadership did not invite them for reconciliation or provide a satisfactory resolution to their complaints.
They stressed that their defection should therefore not be interpreted as a move engineered by Obasa or any other political figure.
Rather, they said it was a decision they took after considering their experience within the APC and the failure to resolve the dispute over the primary elections.
Egunjobi and Yusuf added that they had remained loyal to the APC and contributed to its growth in Agege despite previous political challenges, but could no longer overlook what they described as the denial of victories they believed they legitimately secured.
