Lagos APC Top Men Dump Ambode, Endorse Sanwo-Olu

The Governor’s Advisory Council of the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday endorsed Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu for the party’s governorship ticket in 2019.

It was gathered that the six-hour meeting held at the Bourdillon, Ikoyi, Lagos, residence of the party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

The meeting attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, the Majority Leader of the House of Reps, Femi Gbajabiamila and Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, among others, was chaired by Tinunu.

The Lagos APC governorship primary was earlier scheduled to hold on Sunday but was shifted to Monday by the party’s national leadership for logistic reasons.

The Punch reports that supporters of the incumbent governor, Akinwunmi Ambode and Sanwo-Olu, who wore vests bearing images of their preferred candidates with inscriptions, had earlier thronged the party state secretariat on Acme Road for a stakeholders’ meeting called by the party leadership.

The supporters waited for hours and some later left the venue after it became clear that Tinubu would not be coming as many of them had hoped.

Many party leaders in the state had backed Sanwo-Olu for governor and moved against the second-term ambition of Ambode who had also expressed readiness to contest the primary.

Sources close to the party leaders told The Punch that Ambode had refused a directive that he should step down during a meeting with Tinubu on Friday, saying democracy should be allowed to thrive by allowing him to contest the primary.

After the Bourdillon meeting on Saturday, a member of the council and party chieftain, Senator Anthony Adefuye, arrived in the secretariat to announce the council’s decision to the eager stakeholders.

Adefuye said the council, the highest decision-making body of the chapter, had endorsed Sanwo-Olu for the party’s governorship ticket, saying the decision was in the interest of the party and state.

He said, “We started the meeting at 10am and we left straight after the meeting not to keep you waiting. The GAC and other major stakeholders have endorsed Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

“Asiwaju Bola Tinubu wants me to apologise that he is not here (secretariat) because as we were coming, he was bombarded in the house by various programmes of the party.’’

After his short speech, supporters of Sanwo-Olu jubilated while Ambode supporters protested against the decision with songs.