It is 2018, the year preceding the 2019 general elections and all parties are filling up candidates for all positions in accordance with INEC directives. In Lagos state, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has opted for direct primaries to select its candidates but it won’t be a smooth ride for the party especially for the Ikeja Federal Constituency. The members of the party in the constituency have kicked against the aspirations of the member representing the constituency at the federal house of representatives Honourable James Abiodun Faleke. According to aggrieved party members, the two term legislator should return back to his home state of Kogi where he once contested as the running mate of the Late Abubakar Audu in the year 2016 before his sudden death.
The aggrieved members who staged a protest on Monday, September 8, 2018 stated that Faleke has not impacted their lives positively in his eight years as a National Assembly member. This kind of agitation is rare but not unprecedented and exposes how personal greed is not exclusive to any political party in Nigeria.
What matters most in politics is the interest of the masses but the masses are being shortchanged under the present arrangement that places the politicians as individuals with superior interest above the electorates.
Honourable Faleke at the moment is a registered member of APC in Kogi state and has been at the forefront of a battle to take control of the party structure in the state against the interest of the Kogi state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello. This same Faleke at the other hand is fighting for a legislative ticket in Lagos state!
It has clearly shown that the intention of Faleke is all to better his lots. This is not the people’s Interest!
