Lagos APC bloc backs Alakija amid primary election row

A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, the Dele Ogunsakin-led Mandate Movement, has publicly backed Mayowa Alakija as the party's candidate for the Oshodi-Isolo Constituency I seat in the State House of Assembly for the 2027 general election.

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Mayowa Alakija won by a wide and unambiguous margin across all five wards of Oshodi-Isolo Constituency I.

The group has refuted allegations that the primary election which selected Alakija was flawed, maintaining that the exercise was conducted transparently and in accordance with party regulations. This backing follows the Lagos APC's publication of a list of successful candidates for the State House of Assembly, which named Alakija for Oshodi-Isolo Constituency I, sparking protests in several local government areas due to claims of irregularities.

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The election was keenly contested in every ward. It was not a walkover. It was not a manipulation. It was a democratic verdict delivered by card-carrying APC members of the constituency with clarity and conviction.

Addressing reporters, Ogunsakin stated that Alakija secured a decisive victory in the direct primary, polling 10,514 votes against incumbent lawmaker Stephen Ogundipe's 1,737 votes. He emphasized that the election was keenly contested and represented a clear democratic verdict from card-carrying APC members in the constituency.

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Today, as we address this press conference, all five APC ward chairmen of Oshodi-Isolo Constituency I are physically present in this room. Each of them personally witnessed the conduct of the primary election in their respective wards because the state leadership of the APC sent electoral officials to conduct the election.

Ogunsakin further presented the presence of all five APC ward chairmen from Oshodi-Isolo Constituency I as validation of the primary's outcome. He asserted that these chairmen witnessed the election's conduct at approved venues across the five wards and affirmed its legitimacy. The Mandate Movement's stance supports Alakija's candidacy amidst ongoing controversy surrounding the primary election results in various parts of Lagos State.

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Their presence here is not ceremonial, it is evidentiary. It is the living rebuttal to every fabricated figure the defeated faction has attempted to circulate. They were there. They saw it. And they are here to affirm it under their names and their honour.