8th December, 2010
Over 500 supporters of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in Lagos State, South West Nigeria yesterday stormed the party’s secretariat on Acme Road, Ogba to protest the alleged manipulation of the party’s ward and local government congresses.
The supporters, drawn from the various local governments and local council development areas of the state, carried placards and demanded that the ward and LG congresses, which had already been held, should be cancelled to give room for fresh ones.
Some of the placards carried by the protesters read: No Imposition of Fictitious Names, Give us Fundamental Human Rights and Not Animal Rights; Stop all Undemocratic Processes in Lagos State; ACN, Democracy Must Rule; Stop Acts of Political Dictatorship and We want Democracy, Not Autocracy.
Spokesperson of the protesters, Engr. Adebayo Akande said “we don’t want continuation of imposition. We want open primaries. Two weeks ago, we were given AC cards and not ACN cards. At the congresses, names of executive members were smuggled out and new names smuggled in.
“We don’t want to resort to self-help. In Lagos State, things are not what they are supposed to be. We want the congresses held so far to remain null and void. The congresses were secretly held. We want transparent congresses.â€
Akande stated that the congresses held in the 377 wards were manipulated to suit certain persons, and that in most wards, congresses were not held, but manipulated for unscrupulous purposes while some people were schemed out.
“Why should names of current executive members be removed in order to satisfy certain persons,†he queried.
The protesters demanded that the ACN card be regularized in Lagos State so that many people would not be deprived of their rights to vote at congresses, and that all congresses already held be nullified.
“We want fresh congresses to be held across the state and we also want open primaries to be held and such primaries must be certified by the National Executive Council of the party,†Akande stated.
—Kazeem Ugbodaga
