Renowned journalist and politician, Mobolaji Sanusi, has accused the Lagos State chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Cornelius Ojelabi, of alleged bias in the composition of supervisor across local governments in the state, citing the situation in Ojokoro Local Council Development Area (LCDA) as a troubling example.
The media veteran and Ojokoro APC stakeholder conveyed the allegation in an open letter addressed to the Lagos APC helmsman and copied to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa.
In the correspondence, the former Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency Managing Director congratulated Pastor Ojelabi on his recent re-election as Lagos APC chairman during the party’s state congress. However, the Ojokoro-based politician quickly turned to what he described as disturbing developments in the management of party affairs in the LCDA.
According to Sanusi, the recently released list of supervisors for Ojokoro failed to reflect the inclusiveness earlier promised by the Lagos APC leadership after last year’s contentious local government primaries.
The long-time Ojokoro resident alleged that the process had been manipulated, maintaining that he had in fact won the APC chairmanship primary in the council area before being “rigged out” of the ticket.
While the former LASAA boss said he initially chose to maintain silence in the interest of party unity, the controversial supervisory councillors’ list, he explained, compelled him to speak out against what he believes is an entrenched pattern of unfair decisions.
Quoting English philosopher John Stuart Mill, the APC stalwart said he could no longer remain silent in the face of what he termed injustice within the ruling party.
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on and do nothing,” Sanusi wrote, saying the admonition inspired his decision to put the alleged irregularities on record.
The Ojokoro APC leader further argued that having lived in the community for over 28 years, including his period of public service in Lagos State, he felt duty-bound to defend fairness within the local political structure.
In the letter, Sanusi accused the Lagos APC leadership under Ojelabi of repeatedly ignoring complaints from aggrieved stakeholders in Ojokoro. He cited earlier petitions submitted to the party secretariat during the congress period which, according to him, were dismissed on what he described as an erroneous claim that they were statute-barred.
The APC stakeholder also alleged that the composition of the supervisory councillors’ list reinforced public suspicion that the Lagos APC chairman favours a particular political bloc.
The journalist-turned-politician pointed to earlier criticisms by analysts who had accused the APC leadership of stacking the local government electoral committee with members of a particular faction within the party.
Sanusi insisted that the list released for Ojokoro negated the spirit of reconciliation promised by Ojelabi after the disputed primaries and warned that such actions could deepen divisions within the party at the grassroots.
He therefore urged the Lagos APC chairman to withdraw the list and restructure it in a manner that reflects fairness and inclusiveness among stakeholders.
“Ojokoro APC members see you as our chairman for all members, not just for a select group,” the party chieftain wrote, appealing to Ojelabi to correct what he described as a troubling development.
Sanusi concluded that fairness and inclusiveness in party decisions were essential to preserving the APC’s unity and credibility within the Ojokoro political landscape.
