Crisis Rocks Lagos APC As Former Aspirants Accuse Chairman Of Disobeying Tinubu On Returning N5.5million Nomination Fee

One of the affected aspirants, who spoke on Thursday, detailed how aspirants were asked to purchase nomination forms at exorbitant rates.

Afresh crisis has rocked the Lagos State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as aggrieved chairmanship and councillorship aspirants in the 2025 council election accused the party’s state chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, of defying a directive by President Bola Tinubu to refund millions of naira they paid for nomination forms.

The aspirants, who described the situation as a looming political crisis, said that the ruling party in the state is facing one of the most serious internal disputes in its history.

“All Progressives Congress in Lagos State is today facing one of the gravest self-inflicted crises in its political history," the aggrieved aspirants said.

At the heart of the dispute, according to them, is the alleged refusal of the Lagos APC leadership to comply with the President’s directive and what they termed the “moral authority” of the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, concerning the refund of the nomination form fees paid during the 2025 council chairmanship and councillorship elections.

“This election has gone down as the most disputed and contentious exercise in the history of Lagos State,” they said.

One of the affected aspirants, who spoke to SaharaReporters on Thursday, detailed how aspirants were asked to purchase nomination forms at exorbitant rates.

“During the last local election in Lagos, a lot of people in APC collected form at N5.5million for men and N3million for female aspirants,” she said.

“Intention form was N2.5 million for female aspirants while N500,000 was for admin charge, making a total of N3 million. For male aspirants, the intention form was N5 million while the admin charge was N500,000, making it a total of N5.5 million.”

According to her, tensions escalated when party leaders allegedly began favouring preferred candidates rather than conducting primary elections.

“We had a lot of aspirants, and the contest was getting hot. The leaders started choosing their favorite candidates, while those of us who collected the form believed in democracy and demanded that we conduct primaries.

“But they (leaders) called us and wrote it in black and white, that whoever decided to withdraw, they would refund our money because they didn’t want primaries. People wrote letters of withdrawal, having known that they were hand-picking their favorite candidates.”

The aspirants said they agreed to withdraw in good faith, relying on written assurances that their payments would be refunded. However, months later, they claim the promises remain largely unfulfilled.

“We waited for them to redeem their pledge by refunding us our money but they didn’t refund,” she explained.

“We had a meeting with them in November 2025, and the party chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, told us that before December 15, 2025, he would refund our money.

“But he didn’t refund the money as he said. Some of us informed President Bola Tinubu, and Tinubu directed that they should give us our money since they did not allow us to conduct primaries.

“But we are at the end of February, yet, this man (Ojelabi) has refused to pay us our money.”

The aggrieved aspirants further said that Ojelabi adopted a staggered refund approach that allegedly stalled midway.

“Later, he told us that he will be paying us the money local-government-by-local-government. He said he wanted to start with ‘A’, and he paid aspirants from about eight local governments, and he stopped.

“We still have about 300 aspirants who have not been refunded their money till this moment. He decided to keep in the dark, no meeting with us, nothing.”

In a petition they said they submitted to the President, the aspirants accused the state executive of undermining party discipline and disregarding the President’s intervention.

“Members who invested service, resources, and grassroots mobilisation into APC, were subjected to a process perceived as opaque, exclusionary, and predetermined,” they stated.

“Yet, in the spirit of party loyalty and national interest, these aspirants accepted intervention of the President, who directed that all aspirants be refunded to restore confidence, justice, and internal cohesion.

“Shockingly, the state APC leadership, under Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, has chosen a path of open defiance.

“This refusal raises questions about discipline, loyalty, and respect for hierarchy in the party.”

They stressed, “Let it be stated clearly: no state chapter of a political party is greater than the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, especially when that President is a founding pillar of the same party and a former Governor of Lagos State himself.

“To disregard such a directive is not merely administrative arrogance; it is an act of political insubordination with far-reaching consequences.”

The disgruntled aspirants warned that failure to address the matter could trigger internal rebellion and weaken the party’s grassroots machinery ahead of future elections.

“The continued refusal to refund these aspirants has already fueled anger, resentment, and quiet rebellion across wards and local governments. Grassroots mobilizers, the very engine of electoral success, feel betrayed and humiliated.

“If this injustice is allowed to stand, it will inevitably translate into voter apathy, internal sabotage, protest votes, and loss of credibility ahead of future general elections.”

They added, “History has shown repeatedly that political parties do not collapse from external opposition but from internal injustice.

“What is happening in Lagos today is a textbook example of how unchecked impunity at the state level can undermine national leadership and weaken party unity.”

The aspirants called on party elders and stakeholders to intervene urgently and prevail on Ojelabi, and the entire State Exco to immediately comply with the President’s directive and refund all affected aspirants without further delay.

“This is not merely about money. It is about justice, credibility, party discipline, and the moral authority of leadership,” they said.

"Failure to resolve this matter promptly will cast a long and damaging shadow over upcoming elections in Lagos State and beyond, with consequences that may be irreversible.”