The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has denied reports that the party’s current Chairman in Surulere LGA, Hon. Faud Laguda, has been chosen as the consensus candidate in the yet-to-be-held Surulere 1 Federal Constituency election.
The seat became vacant on Wednesday, following the resignation of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, to resume work as President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff.
Gbajabiamila represented the constituency for 20 years before being re-elected for a sixth term in the 2023 general elections.
While at least three APC members in Surulere 1 Federal Constituency have expressed interest in running on the party’s ticket in the by-election to replace Gbajabiamila, there are reports that Laguda has been chosen as the party’s consensus candidate.
But reacting on Saturday, the spokesperson of APC in Lagos, Seye Oladejo said, “Nothing has been decided yet”.
Oladejo said the party will announce the process for nomination of candidates when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fixes a date for the election.
He explained that it would be the members of the party in the constituency that would decide who gets the ticket among those jostling for it.
Every politics is local. It is the constituency that will determine who gets the ticket.
Other members of the party who have expressed interest in the ticket include Agboola Dabiri, a former acting Chairman of Surulere Local Government, and Hon. Kabir Lawal, a two-term ex-member of the state House of Assembly.
Meanwhile, Women Supporting Women For Greater Heights, a socio-political organization, recently announced that Hon. Jamila Mu’azu-Olukosi had been nominated for the party’s ticket.
The group requested that the APC consider a female representative to ensure inclusivity.
This is coming at the heels of a purported publication by some faceless individuals claiming that one Hon. Fuad Laguda, currently the APC Chairman of Surulere Local Government Area, has been unanimously anointed to replace the former speaker.
Mu’azu- Olukosi has contested four times, paid for the nomination forms, mobilized people massively, but was told to step down and she did because of her belief in the party supremacy.
Reports indicated that Muazu-Onikosi, asides from being a dedicated card-carrying member of APC Lagos state, has empowered many people in her constituency.
Now that there is an opening, they should consider her interest and unwavering support for the party, the president of the group, Bolanle Oyeyemi, had said in a statement.
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