APC declares Sanwoolu its Lagos State governorship candidate after Oshiomhole accepts results

BABAJIDE Sanwoolu has been declared as the All Progressives Congress (APC) Lagos State gubernatorial candidate after the National Working Committee (NWC) overruled a decision of the Chief Clement Ebri-led electoral panel to cancel yesterday's polls.

Yesterday, members of the Lagos State chapter of the APC went to the polls to select their gubernatorial candidate and in an overwhelming victory, Mr Sanwoolu secured 970,851 votes  compared with 72,901 for incumbent Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. However, late yesterday afternoon, Chief Ebri said that his committee was unaware of the primary conducted by the state working committee because it did not follow their guidelines and he had subsequently cancelled the primaries and ordered a fresh exercise for today.

In response to this though, the APC's NWC overruled Chief Ebri, saying that it recognised the results of the election, with party chairman Adams Oshiomhole, ordering the Ebri panel to collate the results and declare them immediately. He added that it was wrong for the Ebri Committee to annul an election that had been held, saying the proper thing to do was for the results to be declared and whoever was dissatisfied should complain.

Mr Oshiomhole said: “The election has been held. Anyone who is aggrieved should complain after the declaration of results."

According to Mr Oshiomhole, the committee’s brief was to supervise and not conduct the election, as it was practically impossible for a panel of seven or so to conduct and micro manage an election held in 245 wards of 20 local government areas of the state. Saying the will of the people must be respected, Mr Oshiomhole directed Chief Ebri to collate and release the results of the poll without failure.

Apparently, the APC's NWC was unhappy that the Ebri panel used its name to annul the primary when in fact it was in a meeting when the primary was going on. Following this development, the Ebri Committee adopted the results announced last night by the Lagos State APC chairman Babatunde Balogun and this morning formally declared Mr Sanwoolu the party's governorship candidate.

Mr Balogun had announced Mr Sanwoolu as the winner at the state party secretariat in Ogba, declaring that he polled 970,851 votes to defeat Governor Ambode, who polled 72,901 votes. After declaring the result, Mr Balogun commended the party members for coming out in good numbers to participate in the primary, saying that their participation reflected their belief in democracy.

He said: “I am aware that conflicting information has been circulating on our primary election but I must tell you that the election was held and it was free and fair. It would be very painful to disenfranchise the over 1.5m members who voted across the 245 wards in the state.

“At the end of the exercise, Mr Babajide Sanwoolu polled 970,851 votes and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode scored 72,901 votes. With this, Mr Babajide is declared winner and I thank party members for participating in the election and their dedication to democracy.”

Chief Ebri and his fellow panellists including Alhaji Ahmed Mahmud Gumel, Mr Nze Chidi Duru, Chief Clever Egbeji, Senator Clever Ikisikpo and Mr Jerry Ugokwe, are expected to declare the results today. In what was a clear show of power by party leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over 93% of the members of the APXC in Lagos State voted for Mr Sanwoolu, effectively ousting Governor Ambode from office.

Tayo Ayinde, the director-general of the Babajide Olusola Sanwoolu Campaign Organisation, said: “We hereby unreservedly express our gratitude to our faithful members for the loyalty, commitments and determination to our great party by participating in the direct gubernatorial primary election in Lagos State on the 2nd of October 2018. In the same vein, we also like to appreciate the overwhelming moral supports received from non-members of our great party during the exercise.

“Our sincere appreciation also goes to President Muhammadu Buhari, vice president Professor Yemi Osinbajo and all the leaders of our great party for holding true tenet of democracy. At this juncture, it is pertinent to acknowledge the gallantry displayed by the security agencies, the cooperation of the press and exhibition of close observation by the Independent National Electoral Commission during the just concluded direct primary of our great party.

“Most importantly, we are grateful to members of the state chapter of our great party who voted for Babajide Olusola Sanwoolu en-masse during the gubernatorial primary election and making him emerge as flag-bearer of our great party for the general election in 2019. We urge our entire members to remain focused and work assiduously towards the general election in 2019."