LP kicks over planned election in LCDAs
Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as misleading a report asking incumbent council chairmen seeking re-election to resign.
Speaking yesterday, State Party spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, stated that there was no truth in the publication attributed to state party chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi.
He said instead, the directive applies to APC council chief who intend seeking elective offices in the upcoming elections.
Oladejo said these individuals are required to resign their positions to avoid conflicts of interest, as they cannot serve as both umpires and contestants.
He urged faithful and the public to disregard the misleading information, and promote activities that foster party cohesion and understanding.
The clarification comes as the ruling party awaits guidelines from the newly reconstituted Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).
He said: “Our attention has been drawn to a false directive purportedly issued by the Lagos State Chairman of APC, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, to incumbent council chairmen, who intend to seek re-election to resign their offices.
“We want to make it abundantly clear that there’s no iota of truth in the publication, as it was twisted to suit the interest of the publisher. On the contrary, the directive issued was to APC local government chairmen, who seek elective offices during the forth-coming elections to resign their positions, as they cannot be umpires and contestants at the same time.”
BESIDES, state chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has expressed concern over the planned elections into the 37 LCDAs.
Spokesperson for the party, Mrs Olubunmi Odesanya, who spoke, recalled the Supreme Court judgment on the autonomy of the country’s 774 local governments and the pronouncement by the Lagos State House Assembly towards the end of last year when it passed a bill authenticating the 20 local councils and converting the LCDAs to area offices.
She advised the ruling party and its chieftains to allow LASIEC to conduct the poll based on constitutional provisions.
Odesanya vowed that LP would not watch the ruling party continue in what she termed its disdain for the law, saying the opposition party “shall apply necessary civil and peaceful approach to prevent their intentions from fruition”.
