A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State is holding a parallel congress in the state.
The faction, led by Fouad Oki, is challenging the other faction of the party led by a former governor of the state, Bola Tinubu.
Mr Oki, until recently a loyalist of Mr Tinubu, was the campaign director for Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s 2015 gubernatorial contest. Mr Oki also acted in that capacity for both Mr Tinubu and former governor Babatunde Fashola.
He had in February, launched the Broom United Movement, a faction of aggrieved party members. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/ssouth-west/260140-cracks-lagos-apc-aggrieved-group-emerges.html
While the faction is holding its parallel congress at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, the Tinubu faction is holding its own congress at the party secretariat, Acme Road, Ikeja.
PREMIUM TIMES’ correspondent who was at the congress report that the faction led by Mr Oki claimed that it will elect officials into the state executive of the party.
The congress, holding at the Event Centre of the Airport Hotel, has in attendance wards and local government delegates from different parts of the state.
A party stalwart told PREMIUM TIMES that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were being expected to monitor the exercise.
Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES observed that party stalwarts at the factional congress took turns to throw jibes at members of the other faction while addressing the crowd.
At the party secretariat where the faction believed to be loyal to Mr Tinubu is holding its congress, there were top political office holders in the state in attendance.
The congress has prompted traffic management agencies in the state to divert traffic away from Acme Road, leading to disruption of vehicular movement along other roads.
The parallel congresses are ongoing at the time of this report.
END
Be the first to comment