Why Lagos made U-turn on local govt elections

**Change of plan potentially scuttles Speaker, Obasa’s 2023 Strategy

The much anticipated 2023 presidential ambition of former Lagos governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has forced the All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwarts to concede to local government elections in the state this year, it can be authoritatively confirmed.

It had been reported last month that the elections will not hold in the state this year; rather, that Sole Administrators would be appointed instead to take charge of the councils.

The latest development has confirmed the report as accurate.

But the undercurrents in the state’s politics within the last one month has seen a reversal of the decision, which prompted Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to give the State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), the go-ahead to prepare for the polls, now slated for July 24, 2021.

A reliable source confirmed to The Daily Times that some top loyalists of the APC National Leader were leading the charge for Sole Administrators to be appointed rather than conducting election, a move that would have enabled them install their preferred protégés to head the LGs possibly until after the 2023 elections.

Particularly, the source said the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Mudashiru Obasa, who is said to be gearing up to vie for the Lagos West Senatorial ticket in 2023, had already penciled down his “boys” as potential Sole Administrators in the West District, to prepare grounds for his Senatorial ambition.

However, Tinubu, who had earlier given his blessings for the appointment of Sole Administrators, made a U-turn as some political advisers warned him of the political consequences of jettisoning elections at the third tier of government in the state.

“People that were pushing for the elections not to hold are Tinubu’s main men, his trusted aides, including the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Obasa. They didn’t want elections so that they could install their loyalists.

“The Speaker was particularly hoping that the elections will not hold and then he will be able to install his loyalists as Sole Administrators in the Lagos West Local governments, to make it easy for him to contest for the Lagos West Senatorial seat in 2023.

“But some of Tinubu’s political strategists, after one of their series of meetings, told him that not holding elections will send a wrong signal to both the party apparatchik and Nigerians in general.

“They advised him to further showcase his democratic credentials by allowing the local government election to hold,” the source said.

The source, who craved anonymity because of his position as a top party official, further said, “For someone who is aspiring to rule Nigeria, he should be seen to be a democrat, not only in words but practically.

So, appointing Sole Administrators rather than hold elections, will be inimical to his ambition, because it will show that he is not a true democrat in the real sense of the word.

Hence, he was convinced not to take that route but instead, encourage the governor to hold elections.

“So, Tinubu reluctantly agreed for the election to hold, but under strict guidelines. Some of his henchmen are not happy with the decision, but they have accepted the reality of the polls holding this year.”

Already, LASIEC has released a time table for the commencement of political campaign in/preparedness for the July 24 election.