Lagos4Lagos Movement, a faction of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, has formally defected to the People’s Democratic Party. Bukola Saraki, former Senate President and also former governor of Kwara State received members of the Lagos4Lagos Movement into the PDP at a ceremony held in Lagos on December 4, 2021. In the last year, the Lagos4Lagos movement under the leadership of Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, has been having a running battle with the APC leadership in the state. He had consistently complained over the continued imposition of candidates and hijacking of the party structure by few individuals. However, in this interview with MAYOWA SAMUEL, Majority Leader of Lagos State House of Assembly, Senai Oyeniran Bolanle Agunbiade, said there is no cause for worry as the APC still has its firm grip on the leadership of Lagos State and isn’t intending on releasing it anytime soon. Excerpts:
Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, recently received members of the Lagos4Lagos Movement into the PDP. As the Majority Leader of the Lagos State House of Assembly, is it not time for the APC in Lagos to press the panic button ahead of 2023?
To be honest I’m very surprised that this is the first question you’ll be asking me and I don’t want to suspect that there’s a motive behind it. But let me say to you that as a member of the APC, the issue of some people moving out of or into the party is an issue for the party leaders and executives to handle. I am a member of the party, there are leaders and officials of the party, so I speak with you as a member, I don’t have any control over those that move in or out.
I don’t have any power to regulate what they do or what they don’t do. Every party has structures from ward, to the state, to national and I’m sure that the issue you raised is what the party structure in the state and party elders are currently addressing. Since I’m not one of them, I cannot take a position on it for them. I am a member and I know people are trying to move out of the party. So, when you look at it, the fact that people move in and out of the party does not harm the chances of the party. We have seen it several times, people have moved in different states from one party to another. APC is rooted in Lagos State and has been in control of governance in the state. For quite some time, the APC has actually implemented and enforced certain programmes that have actually benefited the people of Lagos State. APC has been structured over time and has executed welfare projects. APC is in the minds of a large number of citizens in the state. So, if a party has been in control for over 20 years, someone cannot just come and say he wants to uproot it. They are always our friends but the fact remains that people know who is their friend and benefactor and that person that is coming to lead them, how did that person end up in the state, what is the status of the person in the state and so on. You cannot organise yourselves, but you say you want to influence what happens somewhere else. It’s a matter of time for us to see but that is just my general opinion of that.
However, as to what is going to happen or how it’s going to be handled is beyond me. That is left for the party leaders and the party structure to handle and I’m sure they will handle it properly.
“There will always be disagreement in any political party because they are individuals from different backgrounds, families, exposure, experience coming together, so there’s bound to be disputes. Even in a family between husbands and wives, there are disputes and they resolve them
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The Lagos PDP Publicity Secretary, Taofeek Gani, alleged that the APC misgoverned the state and that it wasn’t ready for leadership at the national level. He insisted that Nigerians have gotten tired of the ruling party and expressed certainty that the PDP will take over the leadership of the country come 2023 both in Lagos and at the national level. How do you respond to that?
Every man is entitled to his own opinion. The opinion of one man does not represent the factual situation most of the time. Some people today will tell you there is no God but that does not demean the concept of God. If you watch the game of wrestling or boxing, before they get to the ring, one of the contenders will say I will beat and knock him out in the first round, the bout may drag on to many rounds but at the end of the day, the person who boasted will lose that bout. Everybody is entitled to his own opinion. As the PRO of the PDP, what did you expect him to say? Do you want him to say APC is doing well? No, he won’t say that because it’s beyond a place where his interest lies. Who will win in a state is determined by the people, not by one person canvassing a prejudiced opinion. So, I will just say that if APC has done well or hasn’t done well, the time will come when the people of the state will decide. It’s not an opinion of one person but it’s a collective aggregate of what people feel about a party. They have been saying this all these years that I can remember, since when APC and PDP had been transforming till the present state that they are. Even when there were dissolutions of parties, APC still won. So, let’s just wait till that time, people will decide which of the parties has done well for them, which of the parties has given them roads and attended to their welfare. We all know what’s happening in the country. So, as far as I’m concerned, it’s not the opinion of a person that I will get worried about; it’s how the leaders in each of the parties have structured their parties and carried along their members. Time would tell.
There is hardly any APC state without a faction. Can that not also be interpreted to mean that your party is not organised?
Like I told you, I am not a member of the executive council of the party, I am just a member. So, I cannot know what the party is doing but I’m telling you no party leader will fold his hands when some members of his party are getting agitated. I know that the people elected as party executives in each of the states of the federation are capable, that’s why they were elected. They will appropriately deal with the situation. It’s not surprising that it’s at this time that people are leaving from one party to the other. There will always be disagreement in any political party because they are individuals from different backgrounds, families, exposure, experience coming together, so there’s bound to be disputes. Even in a family between husbands and wives, there are disputes and they resolve them. So, as far as I know, there are crises in most parties and party structures, party leaders, party executives have always been able to regulate their crises and differences. Wherever there are differences, I’m sure the party structure, leaders and executives will handle them. So, that is all I can say.
