Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu may be in more serious trouble in the days ahead as the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos are against him over alleged attempts to hijack the structures of the party in the state.

Earlier in the week, only 22 of the 39 cabinet nominees presented by Governor Sanwo-Olu to the House of Assembly for screening were confirmed. 17 other nominees were rejected by the lawmakers.

The 17 rejected commissioner-nominees included some technocrats who were part of the governor’s administration in the first term and who were adjudged to have performed excellently.

Credible party sources informed QUEST TIMES that the Assembly members acted in the interest of party leaders who claimed that they were not consulted by the governor in making the appointments.

Our correspondent also gathered that the lawmakers were piqued that the governor turned deaf ears and failed to address some issues raised by stakeholders on the appointments, especially the one that borders on religious grounds.

A former member of the House of Representatives who is also a key stakeholder in the party said since Asiwaju Bola Tinubu became president and moved to Abuja, the governor has been making surreptitious moves to hijack the structures of the party in Lagos.

“ The reality is that since Asiwaju relocated to Abuja as president and has serious national issues to contend with, Governor Sanwo-Olu who acted as a technocrat in his first term and left politics for the party leaders has been making moves to control the structures of the party. That was very evident in the appointments he made”

“ Contrary to what some people are claiming, the Assembly members led by the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa are not grandstanding. They are not doing it because they wanted any financial gain or patronage from the governor. They acted out of genuine patriotism and concerns raised by various stakeholders in the state”.

He said the first sign of trouble was when the governor, rather than send the list to the Assembly, decided to release it to the media. According to him, the assembly members, including the Speaker were shocked to see the names in the media.

“For the first time since 1999, they sent a list to the House of Assembly. Before the list got to the House, they released all the names to the public. The list was meant to be a secret until it was read out by the Speaker but they released the names and even the Speaker and the lawmakers only got to see it in the newspapers. What were they trying to achieve by doing that?” he asked.

“ What is happening at the moment is not a battle between the executive and the legislature. It is a battle between the governor and the APC in Lagos. It is also a battle between the governor and the GAC in Lagos”.

“The truth is that the governor did not consult anyone in making the appointments. He did not consult the GAC, he did not consult with the party leadership, that is state executive of the APC led by Cornelius Ojelabi. Also, he did not consult with many of the local government chairmen”.

“The governor’s spokesman (Gboyega Akosile) said the governor wrote to the local government chairmen and asked them to send three nominees. That is not true as many of them have said they were not consulted. The few who were consulted sent in names but their nominees were not picked by the governor”.

“In Mushin for example, Senator Ganiyu Solomon was the Director-General of the APC Campaign Council in Lagos State. He and other leaders delivered Mushin Local Government to the governor in the last election, despite serious opposition from the PDP and Labour Party. Now, the leadership of Mushin sent in three nominees, but none of them were picked”.

“In Alimosho, the governor ignored the camp of two former deputy governors, Adejoke Oreolope- Adefulire and Senator Idiat Adebule who both worked tirelessly for him, rather he went to pick people from (Rauf) Aregbesola’s camp”.

Also speaking on the dusts raised by the appointment by some religious leaders, our source said all the stakeholders in the party agreed that the governor should have ensure a balance in the appointments between Muslims and Christians.

“Many stakeholders in the party are of the views that the governor also played the religious card in the appointment by loading the list with Christian nominees. True, Lagos is a cosmopolitan state. If you want to make appointments, make it balanced between Muslims and Christians. Majority of the Christians in the party didn’t work for the governor in the last election, they supported Labour Party. But now, the governor now pumped the list with Christians and gave the Muslims very small percentage”.

“ The governor said each local government was represented in the list. The question is, who were these nominees in those local governments? Are they people who has the capacity to mobilise? We are not saying don’t appoint technocrats but when another election comes, how many votes can these technocrats muster? If they can’t galvanise votes, then the party will suffer as we witnessed in the last governorship election”.

On the claim that the governor showed the final list to President Tinubu who then gave his approval, our source said the claim was false.

He also said the Assembly members won’t budge until the governor makes adjustments in the list to reflect the wishes of the various stakeholders concerned.

“The president didn’t approve the list as they falsely claim. The Lagos State House of Assembly is one hundred percent loyal to Asiwaju Tinubu. If Asiwaju had approved that list, the Assembly will not even reject one of the appointees. Even the lawmakers in Lagos Island where the governor comes from are not in support of the list”.

“The governor should do the needful. He should ignore those asking him to fight the House of Assembly. Doing so will be catastrophic for him” he said.

https://thequesttimes.com/how-sanwo-olu-sidelined-gac-leaders-assembly-members-in-appointments/

Even when the appointee did well in his previous position is not even enough to get him or her another office except they settle. Spits