Hon. Rotimi Agunsoye
By Our Reporter
The battle for the chairmanship seats of local government and local council development areas in Lagos State has reached a feverish pace, with political gladiators in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) pulling all the strings in their bid to install their favourite candidates.
While almost all the incumbent chairmen are hoping and working assiduously to retain their seats, new aspirants have thrown their hats into the ring and determined to pull the rug off the feat of the current local government helmsmen.
The jostle for Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area (LCDA) is, however, more intense, with words rife that Hon. Rotimi Agunsoye, the member representing Kosofe Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, is working round the clock to dislodge the LCDA chairperson, Hon. Samiat Bada for his favourite candidate, Mr. Sunday Oyekunle Jegede, popularly called Loogun, who is the APC chairman in Kosofe local government.
Agunsoye’s desire to back Jegede, sources reveal, may not be unconnected to his ambition to run for a third term as a federal lawmaker. Though the race for the 2023 elections is yet to kick off, Agunsoye has already coined his campaign slogan, ‘3 Direct’, an euphemism for a third term in the National Assembly. This is, in spite, of complaints by his constituents that he has allegedly not justified his mandate in the past eight years.
It was gathered that major APC stakeholders in the local government kicking against Agunsoye’s choice are aghast that the lawmaker, who has been “the luckiest party member in the LCDA in terms of political appointments” is hellbent on not only foisting his candidate on the local government, but scheming to run for a third term.
A source quipped: “Agunsoye’s ambition is unhealthy for the party. He was once the Deputy Executive Secretary of the old Ikorodu local government, served for eight years as a cabinet member in Lagos State, first as Special Adviser on Urban Development and later as the Commissioner for Local Government and currently serving in the National Assembly. He should give others the chance to serve.”
Others piqued by Agunsoye’s moves are uncomfortable with his support for Jegede, who it was alleged, has “serially shortchanged” party members in dispensing patronages.
Party members don’t trust Jegede to be fair and just if he becomes the LCDA chairman, said a source who prefer to remain anonymous. An instance was cited of how hundreds of bags of rice meant for party members as palliatives were allegedly diverted to unknown sources by Jegede, amongst several other infractions.
There are also unconfirmed allegations that Agunsoye has already allocated all the top seats in the LCDA to his cronies. One of such people is Dolapo Bashiru, the incumbent Secretary of the LCDA, who has been penciled down as the Vice Chairman in the next dispensation.
Another name being mentioned is one Hon. Martins, who though has purchased nomination form to contest the chairmanship seat despite Agunsoye’s objection, is being positioned as the next Secretary.
