The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expelled former Agege Local Government Chairman, Ganiyu Kolawole Egunjobi, and Azeez Oladapo Yusuf, popularly known as Ninalowo, over alleged anti-party activities and disloyalty following their defection to the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) to contest the 2027 Lagos State House of Assembly elections.
The two politicians, who are regarded as loyalists of Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, defected to the APM after rejecting the outcome of the APC nomination process for Agege Constituency I and II.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Lagos APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, accused Egunjobi and Yusuf of violating the party’s rules after participating in the APC nomination process and subsequently deciding to pursue their political ambitions under another platform.
According to the party, both men participated in the APC nomination process for the two Agege constituencies and initially emerged as winners of the primaries conducted in May 2026.
However, following a subsequent review of the nomination results, the Lagos APC recognised Oluwagbenga Abiola as its candidate for Agege Constituency I and Enimakure Akindele Sakiru for Agege Constituency II.
The development left Egunjobi and Yusuf without the APC tickets they had initially secured.
Egunjobi subsequently challenged the revised outcome, alleging that the result announced by the Lagos APC did not reflect the votes recorded during the primary.
The dispute eventually led to the duo’s defection to the APM, where they proceeded with their bids to contest the 2027 Lagos State House of Assembly election.
The Lagos APC said it had invoked Article 9(5)(II) of its 2022 amended constitution to expel the two politicians.
Ojelabi said APC membership could not be treated as a political garment that members would wear during a primary election and discard immediately after an unsuccessful outcome.
He maintained that party members who lose internal contests are expected to accept the outcome or seek redress through the recognised mechanisms provided by the party rather than move to another political platform within the same electoral cycle.
The party consequently declared Egunjobi and Yusuf expelled from the APC and said they no longer had the authority to represent, speak for or conduct official business on behalf of the party.
The expulsion has, however, been disputed by the two politicians, who maintained that they had already resigned their membership of the APC before the party announced their expulsion.
Egunjobi and Yusuf said they resigned from the APC in July 2026, weeks before the September 23 announcement by the Lagos chapter.
They argued that their decision to leave followed unresolved grievances surrounding the handling of the disputed nomination process.
The duo said they had submitted petitions and made representations within the party in an attempt to resolve the controversy but were dissatisfied with the outcome.
They also rejected suggestions that their defection to the APM was directed or orchestrated by Obasa, maintaining that the decision was theirs.
Despite leaving the APC, the two politicians said they remained supportive of President Bola Tinubu, Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, Senator Idiat Adebule and Speaker Mudashiru Obasa.
Their political relationship with Obasa has attracted attention because the Speaker had publicly backed both men during the build-up to the APC primaries.
In May 2026, Obasa appealed to APC members in Agege to support Egunjobi for the Agege Constituency I seat and Yusuf for the Agege Constituency II seat.
They were subsequently reported as winners of the APC primaries before the party’s later review altered the recognised candidates.
While Egunjobi and Yusuf lost the APC tickets following the change, Obasa secured the APC ticket for the Agege Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives.
The Speaker emerged as the APC candidate unopposed during the party’s primary in May 2026.
With the dispute now spilling into the wider 2027 election contest, Egunjobi is expected to pursue the Agege Constituency I seat under the APM against the APC’s Abiola, while Yusuf will contest Constituency II under the APM against the APC’s Sakiru.
The development has deepened the political contest in Agege ahead of the 2027 elections, with the APC insisting that its action against the two former members was based on its constitutional provisions on discipline and anti-party activities, while Egunjobi and Yusuf maintain that they had already resigned from the party and left because of their unresolved grievances over the nomination process.