The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has formally expelled Ganiyu Kolawole Egunjobi and Azeez Yusuf, citing alleged anti-party activities, disloyalty, and conduct deemed inimical to the party’s discipline and integrity.
The expulsion, announced by the state party Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, in a statement on Tuesday, follows the duo’s failure to secure the APC’s ticket during the 2026 Lagos State House of Assembly primaries. According to the party, rather than accepting the outcome of the internal democratic process, the two aspirants subsequently obtained tickets to contest under the banner of a rival political party, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
The APC described this maneuver as a blatant repudiation of party membership obligations. The statement further dismissed the duo’s purported resignations from the APC as a “belated and face-saving attempt” designed to pre-empt inevitable disciplinary consequences for crossing the floor.
However, Egunjobi and Yusuf have swiftly rejected the expulsion, framing the party’s action as both politically unnecessary and procedurally flawed. In a joint statement, the duo revealed that they had already formally resigned from the APC in July 2026, weeks before the party’s September 23 announcement. They argued that the expulsion was merely a performative gesture by a party leadership unwilling to accept their departure gracefully.
Despite the internal friction, local APC stakeholders in Agege, the constituency represented by the defectors, have moved to project unity and confidence. A former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Oluyinka Ogundimu, speaking on behalf of the stakeholders, dismissed the defection as a non-event that would not negatively impact the party’s electoral prospects.
The stakeholders confirmed that while Egunjobi and Yusuf have secured the APM’s tickets to contest the Agege State Constituency I and II seats, the APC has firmly rallied behind its own candidates, Oluwagbenga Micheal Abiola for Constituency I and Shakiru Enimakure for Constituency II. They noted that rumors of the duo’s impending departure had circulated for months, allowing the party to adequately prepare and consolidate its grassroots support.
As the 2027 general elections draw nearer, this episode highlights the relentless churn of political allegiances in Nigeria’s most competitive electoral battleground. For the Lagos APC, the message is clear: the party will enforce its disciplinary code without hesitation, but its ultimate strength lies not in retaining disgruntled aspirants, but in the resilience of its grassroots structure and the unified front of its endorsed candidates.
Promise Idoko is Junior Reporter working with moderncrux He covers global politics and international affairs. Based in Nigeria,
