The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expelled two former House of Assembly aspirants, Ganiyu Kolawole Egunjobi and Azeez Yusuf, over alleged anti-party activities and disloyalty.
State APC Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, announced the expulsion in a statement on Wednesday, following the duo’s defection to the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) after the disputed APC primaries for the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Egunjobi contested the APC ticket for Agege Constituency I, while Yusuf sought the nomination for Agege Constituency II.
The party subsequently presented different candidates for the two constituencies, following which Egunjobi and Yusuf defected to APM and emerged as candidates for the same seats.
Their move followed a dispute over the outcome of the APC primaries.
Egunjobi and Yusuf have maintained that they won the respective exercises and alleged that the party subsequently announced other candidates despite their claims.
In a joint statement reported last week, the two former aspirants said they had petitioned the APC and sought internal redress before deciding to leave the party.
They also denied that Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa orchestrated their defection, despite reports linking them to him.
Ojelabi, however, said the Lagos APC regarded their decision to obtain nomination tickets from another party after contesting its primaries as anti-party activity and disloyalty.
According to him, members who lose internal contests are expected either to accept the outcome or pursue redress through established party mechanisms rather than seek another political platform during the same electoral cycle.
“The APC is a political organisation governed by rules, regulations and constitutional obligations,” Ojelabi said, stressing that members were free to pursue elective positions but were required to do so within the framework of the party’s constitution and applicable electoral laws.
He said the party had invoked Article 9(5)(II) of the APC Constitution, as amended in 2022, in taking disciplinary action against the two former members.
Ojelabi also rejected the significance of their purported resignations, describing them as a belated attempt to avoid the consequences of their actions.
“The right to contest an election does not confer the right to sabotage the party after losing its nomination process,” he said.
The expulsion comes amid growing political activity in Agege following the emergence of Egunjobi and Yusuf as APM candidates.
APC stakeholders in the federal constituency had earlier petitioned the Lagos APC leadership over their defection and asked the party to take action.
Agege APC stakeholders subsequently said the defections would not weaken the party’s electoral strength and pledged to mobilise support for its candidates.
Lagos APC said Egunjobi and Yusuf were no longer members of the party and consequently had no authority to speak, negotiate, represent or transact business on behalf of either the Lagos chapter or the national APC.
The party urged its members, supporters, stakeholders and members of the public to take note of the development and refrain from dealing with either politician as an authorised representative or agent of the APC.
Ojelabi said the party remained committed to internal democracy, discipline, loyalty and adherence to its constitution as it prepares for the forthcoming elections.
He added that the Lagos APC would take further steps it considers necessary to preserve the discipline, cohesion and credibility of the party.
