Tight security as Lagos APC unveils LG candidates

Tight security, on Monday, enveloped the Lagos State secretariat of the All Progressives Congress, as the party is set to officially unveil its candidates for the July 12 local government election across the state’s 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas of the state.

The campaign flag-off will be held at the party’s headquarters in Ogba, following weeks of internal wrangling over the May 10 primary.

The state Publicity Secretary of the party, Seye Oladejo, made this known in a terse statement obtained on Monday.

He said the party would also use the opportunity to flag off the campaign for the election, ahead of the poll.

The reports that some aggrieved APC members and aspirants for the position of chairmen and councillors in the 57 local councils had faulted the primary conducted by the party in May.

They held a series of protests and accused the party stakeholders of imposing candidates on the members, but the party leadership, in June, inaugurated a reconciliation committee to resolve all conflicts and dissatisfaction in the aftermath of the primary.

Our correspondent observed the presence of a security van and men of the Nigeria Police Force at the entrance of the party’s secretariat on Monday.

Meanwhile, the chairmanship candidate of the APC and incumbent Chairman of the Epe LG, Princess Surah Animashaun, has appealed to aggrieved members to sheathe their swords and unite to ensure victory for the party in the forthcoming local government election.

Animashaun made the appeal in a statement obtained on Monday.

Speaking on the crisis that greeted the party’s primary to elect standard-bearers for the council election, Animashaun denied any knowledge of the crisis resulting from the primary, arguing that what happened in some places was normal in politics.

“I was there, but there was no problem, the primary was held. It is normal for people to be aggrieved, but there was nowhere a candidate was imposed or shortchanged.

“There are two ways in our party constitution, it states that it is either a direct or indirect primary. What happened on that day was a direct primary, that is by voting and all aspirants were there and the delegates voted for their choice of candidates, and it was announced before the people,” she said.

She said her entering into the race for a second term was to give youths and women of the council a renewed sense of hope and create opportunity for the collective prosperity of the people of the local government.

Animashaun, who spoke with journalists in Epe, said, “I know my people, I know the problem of the people and I know how to handle it.

I am a grassroots person and I know that with the support of the leaders, the right things will be done.

“Before any decision is taken, or any project is executed, I will call everybody, bring it on board and discuss it with them, then take it back to my executive for execution, so that the pulse of the people will be properly felt and they are all involved.”

She vowed to build her administration around the welfare of the people, noting that before you deal with any problem, you must first have a good understanding of it.