Former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, Otunba Henry Ajomale, says it was a mistake that the party lost the 2023 presidential election in the state.
Ajomale vowed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former governor of Lagos would never lose in the state again.
He stated these during the inauguration of one of the party’s internal groups, called Justice Forum’s branch in Isolo, Lagos.
Ajomale expressed concerns about the brewing rivalry rocking the party and urged warring factions within the party to resolve their crisis and brace up ahead of the next general elections.
Ajomale recalled that the party lost to the Labour Party (LP) during the 2023 presidential election, noting that it was a reflection of the state of inertia among the party’s members.
He said, “We made a mistake in 2023; we slept, and they defeated us in Lagos at the presidential election—something that has never happened before. We are forging ahead and swearing to ourselves that it will never happen again. Asiwaju will never lose Lagos again.
“We can win in Oshodi-Isolo with all the different ethnic groups. We stand with the leader (President Tinubu) to take the second term with ease.”
He went down memory lane on the role the Justice Forum played within the party since 1993, saying that despite the presence of other groups like Ase, their goal was geared towards the progress of the party.
“In 1993, we changed the name to Justice Forum. The purpose of the group is to mobilise for the party. There was no fight when we fought with Ase; we worked together with the party choice of candidates. We never had a physical misunderstanding,” he said.
He urged party members, especially youths, to stay away from the planned protest on August 1, recalling the loss of lives during the #EndSARS protest, assuring them that the President Tinubu-led administration was working to address the economic challenges in the country.
“Tell people at home, please, we will not lose our children. We will not say that because of the agitation, we will inflict ourselves. Please, Nigeria is not worth dying for. Let us manage.
“The country will get better. We know the country is hard, but we pray for a good time. All the palliative is to cushion the effects. We know there is hunger in the country, but we must not kill ourselves,” he said.
Earlier, other party leaders called for peaceful resolution in all the wards within the Justice Forum, urging members to work together to move the party forward.
