LG POLL: YOUTHS PROTEST IMPOSITION OF CANDIDATES IN AGEGE

Youths in Orile-Agege Local Council Development Authority (LCDA), Lagos, have protested what they described as imposition of councillorship candidates on them. Daily Sun authoritatively gathered on Sunday that youths in the area were angry with the kingmakers of the LCDA because they believed they want to impose some councillorship candidates on them.

Already, the youths had started protesting against the alleged plan as they maintained that it was hatched to prevent their preferred councillorship candidates from getting the party cards to contest in the coming poll.

Explaining the cause of the uproar, a youth leader in Orile-Agege Local Development Council, Mr. Olalekan Jimoh, said: 'Our grouse with the political cabal of this local area is that we have a particular candidate, Surajudeen Ajala, for counsellor of this ward, Ward A, who has been with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), since the inception of AD, in 2003, he was told to step down for the present councillor, and in 2007, the party again asked him to step down and he did and he has been with this party, the ACN, giving his support in cash and kind.

'And we, his staunch supporters, have been assured that he would be given the party's card after the expiration of the tenure of the present councillor so that he can run on the platform of our party in the forthcoming October local council elections.

'But recently, they have shifted grounds; the cabal are bringing up another strange arrangement. They are saying that they will only give the party's card to anyone who is native of this ward. This is done to disqualify our candidate who is not an Awori man and who has been stepping down for others in the spirit of comradeship.

'This is not what we were promised before we allowed our candidate to step down in 2003 and 2007 respectively. Now, we have decided to take our destiny in our hands and fight this battle ourselves.'

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the ward's Community Development Association (CDA), Olakunle Eniyandumo, who spoke to Daily Sun on phone, had denied imposing candidates on the community. He said: 'We are not imposing anybody on the people. As a matter of fact, the matter will soon be resolved. Our man in the LCDA, Yinka Ogundimu, who is currently representing the community at the grassroots, is already involved in the matter and will ensure that the matter is resolved amicably. We have told the restless youths that it is a political matter and not a do-or-die affair. It has to be handled with care and caution.'