Bola Tinubu takes final decision on Lagos APC governorship candidate after meeting with presidency

- The Lagos APC primary is scheduled to hold on Tuesday, October 2, in 377 wards across 20 local governments in the state

- The mode of the poll is open direct primary which involves open and physical counting of members on queue behind the posters of their chosen aspirants

- Crisis rocks Lagos APC as electoral committee, stakeholders disagree over mode of primary

The national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has insisted that his decision to back Jide Sanwo-Olu for the party’s primary election in Lagos state remains unchanged.

The Nation reports that Tinubu’s position on the issue was made known in a statement by his media adviser, Tunde Rahman, on Monday night, October 1, after the APC leader’s meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

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“Asiwaju Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande were invited by President Buhari and it turned out to be a good and productive meeting. Asiwaju was quite pleased to have conferred with the President who has always shown himself to be a committed party member and a true democrat" the statement read.

“Just like the President, he is looking forward to a good and credible primary that is peaceful and free of rancor. As previously stated, Asiwaju plans to vote in this primary and his position regarding the relative merits of the candidates remains unchanged.”

Tinubu reportedly said his preferred candidate for the position, Jide Sanwo-Olu, has the required experienced for the job having served in senior positions three past administrations in Lagos state.

"I am encouraged by the presence of a candidate in this primary, who has served the state in senior positions in my administration, the Fashola administration and even in the current one. While possessing a wealth of experience and exposure, he is a young man endowed with superlative vision and commitment, Tinubu was quoted as saying.

“Most importantly, he understands the importance of the blueprint for development. He esteems it as a reliable and well-conceived vehicle for the future development of the state. He also knows the value of reaching out and working with others in order to maximise development and provide people the best leadership possible. With people like him at the helm, the state will write the proper history for itself.”

The Lagos chapter of the APC has been embroiled in crisis after Bola Tinubu declined to support the incumbent governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, for second term.

The APC leader has remained resolute in his bid to support a former commissioner Jide Sanwo-Olu for the position.

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The Lagos APC primary is scheduled to hold today, October 2, in 377 wards across 20 local governments, in the state. Every card-carrying member of the party is eligible.

There will be no ballot box and ballot paper. Party members will queue behind the posters of their preferred aspirant.

The mode of the election is open direct primary which involves open and physical counting of members on queue behind the posters of their chosen aspirants.

Meanwhile, the electoral committee of the Lagos APC governorship primary and stakeholders in the state chapter, on Monday, October 1, came out of a meeting without agreeing on the pattern to adopt for the election on Tuesday.

The speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa made the disclosure to newsmen on Monday, October 1, after a meeting between the committee and state party stakeholders in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the chairman of the electoral committee, Clement Ebri, led his team to the meeting which was also attended by the Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, the state party chairman, Alhaji Tunde Balogun and other party official.

Obasa said that the disagreement stemmed from the insistence that the committee wanted the use of ballot papers for the primary as against the choice of open direct primary by the state stakeholders.

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Source: Naija.ng