A cross section of the All Progressives Congress (APC) members in Eti-Osa East Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Lagos, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to set up a panel to address alleged injustices suffered by some aspirants during the recently concluded party primaries for chairmanship and councillorship positions ahead of the forthcoming local government elections in the state.

The primaries, held at the party’s state secretariat on Acme Road, have sparked widespread protests across various parts of Lagos, with party members expressing dissatisfaction over the conduct and outcome of the exercise.

Protesters alleged that party leaders and members of the electoral committee manipulated the process to favour handpicked aspirants, thereby sidelining other contenders unfairly.

In an open letter addressed to the President and made available to journalists on Thursday, a group under the banner Concerned APC Stakeholders in Eti-Osa East LCDA called on Tinubu to intervene by constituting a probe panel. 

The group is demanding an investigation into the alleged “impunity” and “electoral fraud” that they claim tainted the primaries, with a view to redressing the perceived wrongs and restoring internal party democracy.

“The outcome of the primaries has left a large number of aspirants aggrieved, not because they lost fairly, but because the process was compromised and the will of the people subverted. In various local government areas across the state—most glaringly in Eti-Osa East LCDA—what was supposed to be a democratic exercise turned into an orchestrated show of favoritism, deceit, and betrayal of our party’s guiding principles.

“The case of Hon. John Campos Ogundare, the incumbent Chairman of Eti-Osa East LCDA, is a particularly disturbing example. Despite his exceptional performance and the visible transformation recorded under his leadership, including the restoration of security, environmental reforms, youth empowerment, and enhanced synergy between the government and the party, he was robbed of the party’s chairmanship ticket in a very undemocratic manner.

“It is on record that within the first six months of assuming office, Hon. Campos Ogundare tackled the security challenges in the LCDA head on, bringing peace and stability to an area once plagued by fear and unrest. 

“Developmental strides have been visible, and his people-oriented policies continue to win the hearts of residents. It is therefore both illogical and unjust for such a man, who has built bridges of trust and cooperation, to be denied the opportunity to continue his good works by self-centered and insensitive leaders,” the letter read in part.

The APC stakeholders in the referenced correspondence entitled: ‘A Call for Presidential Intervention In The Crisis Rocking APC In Lagos Arising from Electoral Malpractices & Injustice That Marred the just-concluded primaries of the party in The State for Forthcoming LG Elections ‘ said the party could ill afford the current internal strife brought on by the primaries, especially in Eti-Osa where the party lost the the area’s Federal Constituency to Labour Party in 2023 general election.

“As we write sir, APC in Eti-Osa East is fractured, and majority of the good people of the LCDA are upset by the injustice meted to the _performing_ Executive Chairman of the council, an electorate’s favourite, who is redefining governance in the community you reside in.

“Mr President, it would serve you no good to allow this injustice to stay, as the electoral fraud is in stark contrast to your disposition to justice and fairness,” the letter read further.