Trouble is brewing in the camp of the Lagos state chapter of the All Progressives Congress as the local APC leaders have threatened to turn against their national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This threat comes in the face of news from several quarters suggesting that Tinubu, may bow to pressure and support incumbent Governor, Akinwumi Ambode for a second term in 2019.
According to reports from the new Telegraph, a movement within the APC populated by Tinubu’s loyalists, the Mandate Movement, held a meeting yesterday where it was unanimously decided that they would rebel against Tinubu should he back-pedal and support Ambode for a second term rather than the Managing Director of Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSPDC), Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
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Tinubu’s supporters within the APC have been clamouring for Sanwo-Olu to emerge as the APC candidate for next year’s governorship elections in the state when primaries are held on 25th of September.
Tinubu’s followers are angry at Ambode for the way he has treated them in spite of the massive support they gave him against other candidates within the party in 2015. They, therefore, say they were now solidly behind Sanwo-Olu.
According to the group;
“We have gone far in our support for Sanwo- Olu and at present, it will be difficult for us to back out from our desire to stop Ambode’s re-election. “In fact, some of the party leaders resolved at the meeting that they are ready to challenge Tinubu for the first time since 1999 if he decides to support Ambode’s re-election.
The present situation has nothing to do with Tinubu alone; it is about key leaders of the APC, who are not happy about how they were treated by the governor. They worked hard for Ambode, but despite their support for the governor, he abandoned them and treated them badly. The party leaders resolved at the meeting that if Tinubu supports Ambode, they would embark on protest votes against him.”
As plots to unseat him thickened in the Background, Ambode had a five hour meeting with Tinubu on Friday as part of efforts to appease the national leader during which the national leader assured the governor of his support but made no efforts in the direction.
According to an inside source, Tinubu reportedly told Ambode that the final decision for his re-election rests with the party leaders and Ambode had to dialogue with the leaders in the state for his re-election bid to stand.
“There was no concrete commitment after the meeting. For five hours, Ambode tried hard to sort out his disagreement with his political benefactor. The governor was told to go and appease the Lagos APC leaders. “We are hopeful that the issues would be resolved, probably after the Osun governorship election holding this Saturday,” the source said.