The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has begun moves to replace the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, who was appointed as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Chief of Staff.
According to Daily Trust, the current APC chairman in Surulere Local Government Area, Fuad Laguda, has stepped ahead of other aspirants in the race to replace Gbajabiamila.
Laguda will likely have the party’s clearance to contest the by-election for Surulere Federal Constituency 1.
Recall that Gbajabiamila had won reelection into the Green chambers, but the lawmaker forfeited that position following his appointment by Tinubu.
It was gathered that three aspirants had shown interest in flying the APC’s flag in the by-election to be conducted later in the year by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
They are a former acting Chairman of Surulere Local Government, Agboola Dabiri; a two-term former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Kabir Lawal, popularly called Caesar; and Laguda.
However, Laguda emerged as the favoured aspirant after a mock primary conducted among apex leaders of the party in Surulere on Sunday.
Speaking with Daily Trust, one of the party’s leaders confirmed that while Dabiri is already in Abuja, Lawal had agreed to step down to pave the way for the emergence of Laguda.
“We did the mock primary yesterday (Sunday), and Laguda was unanimously nominated as candidate to represent the party. We decided on Laguda because he has the experience as a seasoned politician and also an accomplished public servant,” he said.
But the publicity secretary of APC in the state, Hon. Seye Oladejo, said the party would still follow due process in selecting a candidate, assuring that the candidate would be someone committed to the ideals of progressive politics.
