Activities at the Secretariat of the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was crippled for several minutes when angry members of the party attacked the Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, were about beating him when the policemen waded in and rescued the chairman away.
As gathered, before the law enforcement agencies intervention, the angry members were said to have removed his cap to express their displeasure over his stance on the leadership crisis rocking Alimosho Local Governments.
The protesters, who had converged at the party Secretariat in Acme, Ikeja, were said to have embarked on the act when Ojelabi totally turned down their request on possible solutions to end the leadership crisis rocking the party chapel in Alimosho.
The protesting party members had recommended that the party leadership in the state recognizes all former public officeholders especially ex-lawmakers in the House of Representatives and Lagos House of Assembly from the council, to address the challenges bedeviling the peace and Harmony.withim the council.
But rather than accept their requests on Monday, Ojelabi insisted that the current public officeholders must be on seat during a meeting that will deliberate on their wish and recommendation for APC in Alimosho.
As gathered, the protest could have further degenerated but the intervention of the security agencies at the Secretariat in Ikeja, who rescued the chairman and whisked him away.
As gathered, the protest could have further degenerated but the intervention of the security agencies at the Secretariat in Ikeja, who rescued the chairman and whisked him away from the claws of the angry members who were hellbent of continued assault on the chairman.
In series of videos obtained by The Guild, the members were seen armed with placards bearing different inscriptions to express their displeasure over the leadership tussle that had affected the party’s progress in the council.
In some of the inscription seen by our correspondent, the members, who were led by former House of Representative and Assembly members, Bisi Yusuf and Olufemi Adebanjo, popularly called Eyes Open, said: “we want peace in Alimosho.
The demonstration, as gathered, started peacefully but the utterances of the chairman even after realizing that the demonstrations were led by senior members of the party, Yusuf and Adebanjo, angered the members who further accused Ojelabi of allegedly taking side in the leadership tussle.
They chanted many unprinted words, alleging that the party under Ojelabi’s leadership has become corrupt and that the executive members were bias in their judgement on issues that concerns members.
While chanting this words, our correspondent observed that the chairman was busy explaining reasons for his stance but at this time, the angry members were not interested in his side of the story.
After the protests from Alimosho members their counterparts from Lagos Mainland also stormed the party secretariat, demanding that the APC executive in the state immediately wade into leadership crisis rocking the party in the council.
Responding after the protest, the party’s spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, stated that the demonstration degenerated after hoodlums stormed the party headquarters in the state and hijacked the protest immediately.
Oladejo, in a statement made available to newsmen, assured Lagosians that the party under the leadership of Ojelabi, will resolve the crisis, saying since assuming office, our party chairman has been working to restore peace and harmony among APC members across the state.
According to the statement, “As much as this sensational piece of news might throw the opposition camp into premature celebration, the incident was a storm in a tea cup.
“Since the resumption of office of the State Chairman , Hon. Cornelius Ojelabi, he has continuously sought the peaceful co-existence of all party members in every cradle and cranny of the state.
It is on record that he has , at various times, been able to successfully reconcile warring party members across board to ensure cohesion.
The incident today was about a meeting conveyed to reconcile the different factions of the party in Alimosho local government area which was unfortunately infiltrated by uninvited thugs with ulterior motives.
“We appreciate the security agencies for promptly bringing the situation under control.
“The victory of the progressives in Lagos State since the inception of this dispensation has been due to life changing policies by our responsive and responsible government and strict compliance with party discipline.
“Lagos State APC has a time tested mechanism for settling disputes and will not hesitate to wield the big stick if need be.
“The sacrifices of the founding fathers of the party to engender democracy cannot be sacrificed on the altar of indiscipline and intolerance.
“We acknowledge protests as an integral part of democracy, but it has to be within acceptable norms without infringing on the rights of others”.
