For over two decades, the Alimosho Federal Constituency has stood as an unshakeable pillar of progressive politics in Lagos State. Since the dawn of the Fourth Republic on May 29, 1999, a unified leadership has steered the ship, from the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) through the Action Congress (AC) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), to the present-day All Progressives Congress (APC).
In that time, the directive of party leaders was law, and the faithful followed without question. The machinery was cohesive; the votes were monolithic. However, the political landscape of Alimosho has since been rattled by a dangerous new reality. The internal harmony that guaranteed electoral dominance is now threatened by a deepening chasm between the party’s grassroots and its highest echelons of power.
The Flashpoint: A Question of Mandate vs. Imposition
At the center of the current crisis is a glaring discrepancy between the results of the recently conducted APC primary election and the internal maneuvering that has followed. A source of immense tension, and the core of the controversy, surrounds the alleged plan by the Lagos APC leadership to discard the outcome of what many describe as a free and fair primary election.
According to party faithful and available records, the APC primary for the Alimosho Federal Constituency produced a landslide winner. Hon. Ganiyu Adele Ayuba Esq (popularly known as Mayor K.K.), the incumbent House of Representatives member, emerged victorious with a commanding 37,021 votes.
Yet, the political atmosphere is now thick with rumor and anxiety. It is widely believed that a faction of the state leadership is plotting to substitute Hon. Ayuba with the Immediate Past Executive Chairman of Mosan-Okunola LCDA, Hon. Olabisi Adebajo (ABISCO), who reportedly scored a mere 2,793 votes in the same election.
This potential reversal has plunged the constituency into a state of confusion and outright disbelief. The rhetorical question echoing through the wards, Zones and polling units is simple: “How do we get here?”
The Critics’ Verdict: A Recipe for Defeat
For political watchers in the state, the scenario is not just an internal party affair; it is a ticking time bomb with the potential to detonate the party’s chances in the 2027 general elections.
In what appeared to be an armed response to the crisis, the party’s leadership in Lagos adopted a method of direct primaries and consensus as of April 2, 2026. The directive was clear: where consensus fails, a direct primary election must be conducted. Alimosho stakeholders followed this directive to the letter. The question now on the lips of many is why the party hierarchy appears ready to disregard the results of the very process they mandated.
Critics argue that the imposition of an unpopular candidate against the overwhelming will of the people is a dangerous gamble. It disregards the “people’s mandate” and alienates the grassroots, who serve as the engine room of the party.
The “Osun State Lesson”
The warning is stark. The recent outcome of the Governorship elections in Osun State serve as a cautionary tale. In that instance, the failure to respect the internal democratic process allegedly led to fractionalization and ultimately cost the party crucial seats. Lagos APC leaders are being urged to heed this lesson, lest Alimosho a constituency rich in numbers suffers a similar fate.
It is a dangerous gamble to undermine and disregard the grassroots while simultaneously expecting them to deliver their votes. Politics is about the people, their intelligence must not be insulted. They are the ones who stand in the sun and rain to cast their ballots. Disregarding their collective will in favor of a few selfish interests is tantamount to political suicide. The leadership cannot expect total loyalty from those whose mandate they have chosen to subvert.
A United Front Against the Imposition
Proponents of Hon. Ayuba are keen to point out that the primary election wasn’t a fragmented process. They claim the decision to return him to the National Assembly was a unanimous one at the local level. The list of endorsements for the incumbent is extensive and crosses nearly every stratum of local leadership:
-The Apex Leadership: The APC Alimosho Apex Leader is said to have voted and endorsed Hon. Ayuba.
Governance and Party Structure. The Alimosho GAC (Governor’s Advisory Council) member, the APC Lagos West Vice Chairman, all six LGA Party Chairmen, and all six Council Chairmen threw their weight behind him.
Legislative and Community Leadership
The two Lagos State House of Assembly members, representing Alimosho constituency 01 and 02, All 36 Councillors in the Federal Constituency, alongside the six CDC Chairmen, formally endorsed Hon. Ganiyu Ayuba.
Traditional and Civil Society: In a show of cultural and civic backing, all Alimosho Royal Fathers openly endorsed the “Mayor K.K.” candidacy, as did all recognized civil society groups.
With this overwhelming level of support at the grassroots, the decision to elevate a candidate who scored a fraction of the votes is viewed not only as a betrayal of the democratic process but as an insult to the intelligence of the electorate.
The INEC Factor
Adding to the urgency is the stance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The electoral body has been explicit in its guidelines: only candidates whose names correspond with the results of primaries monitored by its officials will be recognized as authentic candidates for the 2027 general elections.
This means that any attempt to submit a name that does not correspond with the official primary results could lead to the exclusion of the party from the ballot in that constituency, leaving a vacuum that rival parties would gleefully fill.
The Path Forward
The leadership of the Lagos APC is at a crossroads. One path leads to reconciliation and victory, honoring the internal democracy that gives the party its credibility. The other leads to division, dissent, and a potential loss of a formidable stronghold to opposition parties, a repeat of the painful lessons of 2023.
For the sake of peaceful coexistence and with the goal of securing a landslide victory for all APC candidates, most importantly President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR in Alimosho in the 2027 general elections, the party hierarchy must act decisively. The clarion call from the constituents is clear: Whose mandate is it anyway? The party leaders must either revert to the people’s choice or seek an urgent and transparent explanation for why 2,793 has greater weight than 37,021. In politics, as in life, credibility is the only currency that spends on election day and the leadership is currently drawing on an overdraft.
Elder Com. Ikugbayigbe, a public affairs analyst, writes from Alimosho, Lagos
I
