2027: Agege Stakeholders Beg Egunjobi, Yusuf To Return To APC

Stakeholders in Orile-Agege and Agege Local Government Areas of Lagos State have appealed to the former Chairman of Agege Local Government, High Chief Ganiyu Kola Egunjobi, and Azeez Yusuf to reconsider their defection to the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and return to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The appeal was made in the interest of peace, stability and development in the area ahead of the 2027 general election, following the defection of the two APC chieftains to the APM, where they have emerged as candidates for the Lagos State House of Assembly seats in Agege Constituencies I and II respectively.

The stakeholders, comprising traditional rulers, representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Muslim clerics and members of the Arewa community, made this appeal at a peace meeting held on Sunday to address concerns arising from the political development in the constituency.

The Alaige of Orile-Agege, Oba Ambaliu Agbeleyi, said concerns over possible violence in the community during the forthcoming elections prompted the meeting.

The monarch, who said he had been on the throne for 14 years, stressed that his priority remained the peace, stability and development of the community.

“We want peace and progress in our community. When I heard that there will be bloodshed in the coming election, I cannot fold my arms and watch without doing anything,” he said.

Agbeleyi appealed to Egunjobi and Yusuf to reconsider their positions and return to the APC, urging them to preserve the peace that had prevailed during their years in office.

The Olu of Agege, Oba Oyedeji Kamila Ishiba, similarly urged the politicians and their supporters to shun confrontation and embrace peace.

“We don’t want fight or rancour in our communities. Promotion is of God. We don’t pray for commotion in our communities. We want you to work on achieving peace and stability,” he said.

The Baale of Dopemu, High Chief Shuaib Ajayi, urged political and community stakeholders to uphold truth and support the efforts of traditional and religious leaders to maintain peace in Agege.

Also speaking, the Chairman of CAN in Orile-Agege, Apostle J.B. Olubode, said religious leaders would continue to pray for the peace and progress of the community and the APC.

The Chief Imam of Dopemu, Alhaji Sulaiman, called on party leaders to intervene in the disagreement and prevail on their members to avoid actions capable of triggering violence.

He said political positions were temporary and should not result in loss of lives.

“I am for the community. I stand for the peaceful coexistence in Agege constituency,” he said, urging party leaders to use their influence to call their members to order.

“I appeal to party leaders. They are at the centre of this. They have the strength to call to order their members,” he added.

The CAN Coordinator in Agege Local Government Area, Pastor Bayo Jesuniyi, said the primary concern of religious leaders was peace and continued development in Agege.

Jesuniyi urged political leaders to embrace tolerance and avoid actions capable of undermining peaceful coexistence.

“We are not going to war. We are going to vote come January 16 to further the development. Let us align with the wishes of our leaders and avoid conflict,” he said.

Responding, Egunjobi, who is the APM House of Assembly candidate, said he was unaware of the meeting until he was invited by one of the clerics.

He, however, described the period as politically sensitive and called on the APC leadership to act fairly and pursue reconciliation.

Egunjobi claimed that he won the APC primary election, but that the party subsequently settled for another candidate. He argued that such a development should have been followed by a reconciliation process.

“When you know that a candidate would be selected, you won’t tell us to go to the field. If I am relieved of my winning, the party should deem it fit to invite us to a meeting,” he said.

The former council chairman alleged that the APC leadership had not reached out to him for reconciliation since the disputed primary, adding that he expected the party leadership to convene a meeting involving the contending groups.

The APC subsequently expelled Egunjobi and Yusuf in September over alleged anti-party activities and disloyalty, but the duo rejected the action, saying they had resigned from the party in July before the expulsion was announced.

Egunjobi also disclosed that he and his supporters had considered going to court over the disputed primary, but were prevailed upon by the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, not to do so.

He said the APC leadership in Lagos, led by its Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, failed to intervene by inviting the contending parties to a reconciliation meeting.

“Before the issue degenerated into this, the leadership of the party in the state led by Hon. Cornelius Ojelabi did not deem it fit to intervene by inviting us to a reconciliatory meeting. They didn’t reach out to us. Not even Mr Speaker. Let us fear God,” he said.

Egunjobi recalled a similar political development involving Ojelabi, who, according to him, left the Alliance for Democracy (AD) for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999 after he was not returned as chairman of Ojo Local Government Area.

He said his own decision to leave the APC was therefore not without precedent.

“In 1999, when he wasn’t returned, he left the AD for the PDP. Then President Bola Tinubu was governor of Lagos State.

“We were calm and law-abiding, but the party failed to do what was expected. We own our community, and nobody can dictate to us what to do,” he said.

Egunjobi added that he had initially not intended to contest the Lagos State House of Assembly election but was persuaded to do so.

Despite the disagreement with the APC leadership, however, he commended the convener of the peace meeting and assured residents that his defection and the political disagreements would not translate into violence.

“I commend the convener of this peace meeting. The convener wants peace and progress of the community. By the grace of God, there won’t be war in the community. I can only speak for myself; I assure you there won’t be war,” he said.

The peace meeting came amid continuing political disagreements over the APC primaries in Agege.

Egunjobi and Yusuf have maintained that they were denied tickets despite their claims concerning the outcome of the primaries, while the APC has maintained its position on the candidates that emerged under its platform.

The development has added another layer to the political contest in Agege ahead of the 2027 elections, with community and religious leaders now seeking reconciliation to prevent political differences from undermining peace in the constituency.