Following the conduct of the local government elections across Lagos State on Saturday, July 12, the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, , has stated that the ruling party remains committed to fulfilling its part of the social contract with the people. Speaking in an exclusive interview with , Oladejo dismissed allegations of electoral malpractice made by opposition parties, insisting that the elections were largely peaceful and credible. Oladejo argued that the people of Lagos are not willing to “experiment” with the opposition, noting that the APC’s track record continues to earn it public trust and electoral success. Excerpts:

There was the belief that the APC would win the local governments elections conducted in Lagos State on July 12 since it was organised by the state electoral commission, LASIEC, that was created by the state government, what’s your reaction to this?

That is very far from the truth. The opposition should get serious and refrain from making unfounded allegations. Since the current democratic dispensation started in 1999, the APC has been the party of choice for the voters and we need not look further than the results of all the past elections. What has really happened to make anybody believe that this would be different. The landmark achievements of our various local governments and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the state through the THEME mantra would have some effects. The local government election was a referendum on the good performances of our elected officials across board and we appreciate Lagosians for that. It has nothing to do with whether it was conducted by the LASIEC or not. In any case, all the local governments elections in other states were conducted by the state electoral bodies. So, what makes it different in Lagos.

They are saying that in elections conducted by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) other parties still win some seats, but that only one councillorship seat was won by the PDP in the local government election and that it is because the election was conducted by LASIEC…

That remains in the realm of hypothesis. It can’t be proven in any way, and you would agree with me that all elections are local and the people at the grassroots levels know the people that they want. What you see is the choice of the local people. It’s immaterial to start working on assumptions and presumptions.

The use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was also seen as one of the fallouts of the election as the LASIEC Chairman even said that it was not going to be used; do you think if it had been used the APC would still have swept the polls?

It wouldn’t have made any difference. Non usage of BVAS affected all the political parties. The opposition parties should be more creative and be less predictable of arguing about poor conduct of elections, rigging and all that, which they have been saying for the past 25 years. They should wake up and provide a good opposition that will make our democracy grow and thrive. The fact remains that the electorate in Lagos are sophisticated and civilised. They know the party and the people that have their love at heart. When we were talking about our achievements, they were just making empty promises, which everybody knows they don’t have capacity for. They have never run the business of government in the state before. Are we going to start experimenting at this stage of our life as a state in Lagos. The people have spoken and they would rather stay with the progressives.

There were reports that names of some political parties were missing in the ballot papers, don’t you think this could be why the opposition is crying foul?

Well, I am not in a position to speak for the LASIEC, I think those questions should be reserved for them. But which opposition party are we talking about, is it the opposition that is divided into factions like the Labour Party that has three factions or the handful of the voters they have that didn’t know whether they should vote for Labour Party, the PDP or the APC? They should just go and put their house in order and show Nigerians that they can run a national party before they can start toying with our mandate and trust them with our lives. They should tell us that they can run their homes and we will now see if we should vote for them.

What lessons do you see in the election and how would you compare it with the last local government election that was conducted in the state?

There is always room for improvement after any election. To the best of my knowledge, no election is perfect the world over. Even the age-long democracy in the United States of America, we all know what happens there. It is work in progress, it’s a continuous process. We need to perfect the hiccups here and there until we reach near perfection. On the hiccups, I need to put it on record that they were not enough to affect the process. We need to commend LASIEC, the law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders as far as this election is concerned.

What will be your position about local government autonomy and the fact that we have 20 LGs and 37 LCDAs in Lagos State and the LCDAs would not get funds from the federal government?

It’s true that we have 20 local governments and 37 LCDAs in Lagos State. Yes, we need local government autonomy in the country and that will make the people to hold those at the helms of affairs at this level responsible for what is happening at that level. In recent times, President Bola Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy and the revenues that accrue to the states and local governments was increased and we all witnessed unprecedented developments in the local governments in Lagos State. Local governments now dabble into areas that were almost like taboos before. They are now going into real estates at the local government level, healthcare has improved, education, and market development have also improved among others. We know that when they have real financial autonomy and independence they would be able to do more. That is the best thing that we can wish at the local government level.

What would be your charge to the newly elected local governments chairmen as there are insinuations that not much developments are taking place at the local government level as the chairmen allegedly use the allocations to enrich themselves?

That is not correct, it is an unfounded allegation to say that the local governments chairmen are not performing. We have performances across board and they differ from one local government to another. As a party, we have made it our point of duty to ensure that the local governments perform based on the mandate given to them and fulfill their own part of the social contract between them and the people. Every election presents an opportunity for the electorate in Lagos to assess us and see reason whether they should continue with us or not. That puts additional pressure on the party to monitor the various local governments at the different levels and even the state and see that they perform as expected. I want to assure Lagosians that we are not taking the latest mandate given to us for granted and the elected custodians of this mandate would not disappoint them. They would continue to operate within the prism of the progressives policies and ensure all-round developments in the state.

Do you have control measures on elected officials at the local governments levels?

All of them, elected and appointed officials, are carrying the mandates of the party. They are all card carrying members of the party. We have right to discipline them if they fall out of line, this I can assure you. Prior to this last election, we had a committee of elder statesmen for on the spot assessment of their various performances. As a party that believes in discipline and the fact that the support of the people should not be taken for granted, we will not hesitate to wield the big stick, when situation calls for it.

In 2023, your party lost the presidential election to the Labour Party, are you saying that with what is happening to the nation’s economy, your party will still have victory in the state in 2027?

What happened in the Presidential Election of 2023 was a pyrich victory for the Labour Party. Their presidential candidate then rode on the back of youth restiveness and with a lot of propaganda to record an unlikely result. If you ask the opposition, they would tell you that the election was fair, but that was put to test days after and the APC won, so it was a pyrrhic victory, it could not be sustained. We further proved in the cause of other by-election and this local government election. All these policies and initiatives of the Federal Government will start yielding fruits and will have effect on the economy, which is not even peculiar to Nigeria. The removal of subsidy, which all the leaders in our political space, agreed to, will come at a cost. Also, the Federal Government is not unmindful of these pains and everything is being done to cushion the effects and ensure that Nigerians continue to enjoy the dividends of democracy under the APC. I can you assure that in the coming election, the APC will not only win Lagos State, but will win it convincingly.