Igbo, Delta Candidates Spring Surprise in Lagos, Win Three House Seats

Map of Lagos State

• PDP clears five constituencies, Accord Party one

Olawale Olaleye 

In what may turn out to be one of the significant upsets in this year’s general election, Igbos living in Lagos have  made a significant statement by clearing at least two House of Representatives seats out of the five won by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In total, the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost six seats to the opposition in the state. While the PDP cleared five seats, three of which were won by candidates of South-east origin, the Accord Party (AP) won the sixth.

Although most of the House seats lost by the APC were in the Igbo-dominated local government areas of the state, the AP victory was situated in the heart of Mushin, another crucial part of the state.

For instance, in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, which has a high South-eastern population, particularly in areas like Kirikiri, Satellite Town and FESTAC, the PDP candidate, Oghene Egboh, who is from Delta State, defeated Mr. Ganiyu Olukolu of the APC.

The same scenario played out in Ajeromi/Ifelodun, another densely-populated area in Lagos State, which is home to Ajegunle (an Igbo-dominated area), as the PDP candidate, Mrs. Rita Orji, a South-easterner and lawyer, defeated Taiwo Adenekan of the APC.

In Oshodi/Isolo Federal Constituency 2, the incumbent, Mr. Akeem Munir, lost to Mr. Tony Nwoolu of the PDP, also an Igbo man.

Still for the PDP, the story was not different in another Igbo-dominated Ojo council are, where the PDP candidate, although a Yoruba man, Mr. Tajudeen Obasa, won the seat.

Also, in Surulere Federal Constituency 2, in which Aguda is situated and a few other Igbo settlements, Mr. Tunji Soyinka of the PDP defeated Mr. Hakeem Bamgbala of the APC.

Apart from the “Igbo factor”, it was learnt that the incumbent, Mr. Aliyu Kazeem, had been in court with Bamgbala over the conduct of the primary. Thus the division within the party was believed to have given the PDP the leverage in the community.

The APC candidate in Mushin Federal Constituency 2, Mr. Yemi Alli, who incidentally, is a three-time former local government chairman in Mushin, lost to Hon. Dauda Kako-Aare of the AP.

Kako-Aare, the incumbent, had lost at the APC primary last December to Alli but defected to AP, where he eventually retained his seat.