A former Chairman of Agboyi-Ketu Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, Mayor Dele Oshinowo, who is aspiring to become a member of the House of Representatives, has alleged plans for foul play at the forthcoming APC primaries in Lagos.
Speaking on Thursday while seeking the support of members of the All Progressives Congress in the Kosofe Constituency for his aspiration, Oshinowo alleged that some actors within the party were already printing fake slips in a bid to manipulate the primaries.
“They want to cheat. They have started printing fake slips. We will check everything before they enter. We have put measures in place to check all those things. They are also afraid,” he said.
Oshinowo, who is an aspirant for the House of Representatives seat under the APC in the Kosofe Constituency, said this when he paid a visit to party members under The Mandate Movement at a meeting held at TEM Hotel, Victoria Street, Lagos.
The event witnessed the presence of party leaders in the constituency and hundreds of party members, who pledged their support for the aspirant.
The Mandate Movement is a faction within the Lagos APC that is at loggerheads with another faction known as the Justice Forum.
At the last local government election held in Lagos State in 2025, a lot of controversy trailed the APC primaries prior to the main elections.
Members accused the party leaders of imposing candidates across various councils.
Controversy is also likely to trail the forthcoming Lagos APC primaries ahead of the 2027 general election.
Speaking further, Oshinowo pledged to harmonise the party and ensure equal treatment, urging the members to cast their votes for him at the forthcoming Lagos APC primary.
He said, “We did it in Agboyi-Ketu, we empowered party members. We were intentional. As we did for council residents, we also did for party members. The legacy we left behind is the reason people are following us. It’s not that we’re buying them with money. You all left your work to be here. I pray that God will honour you all.
“I came here today, and you already know why I’m here. The leaders told me I must meet with the Mandate Movement members and I listened to them.”
Meanwhile, while the Mandate Movement faction was holding its meeting last Thursday, Third Lens gathered that another party faction had scheduled a meeting within the council the same day in a bid to demobilise the Mandate Movement meeting.
The aspirant therefore preached unity in Kosofe, noting that the constituency must be united irrespective of the factions. “Kosofe must be one.”
The factional drama is not limited to Kosofe; it is also very pronounced in Agege, the constituency of the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, whose son, Abdulganiyu, is also an LGA chairman within the council.
The Lagos APC primary is expected to hold later this May, where candidates will emerge for various positions, including governorship, ahead of the 2027 poll.
The leadership of the party in the state has said it will adopt direct primaries as the method for electing candidates, with consensus arrangements encouraged where freely agreed upon and widely accepted.
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