Alimosho Federal Constituency: The Untold Story of the 2023 Presidential Elections in Lagos ~ NewsEdge

Enilolobo-led APC Mainstream Battles Adversity in Alimosho During 2023 Presidential Elections in Lagos

The 2023 general elections have come and gone, but the history of this election in Alimosho Federal Constituency must not be swept under the carpet. The election was marked by colorful posters of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidential campaign, with the BATCO-MANDATE GROUP led by Ayinde Enilolobo being the first to paste the posters.

As the campaigns intensified, the BATCO MANDATE GROUP organized a pro Bola Ahmed Tinubu 100,000-man walk in Ikeja, the state capital, which was massive and unprecedented, with representation from all 57 local councils. However, the election day was marred by chaos and confusion due to the failure to fix the proper and experienced agents to polling units.

The power-sharing ratio between BATCO MANDATE GROUP and Asiwaju Solidarity Movement (ASM) was 55:45, respectively, as sanctioned by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. However, when the lists of APC agents in Alimosho LGA were demanded by the party state secretariat, both groups sent their lists, but the names on the list sent by ASM were mostly individuals not residing in Alimosho.

Orelope Adefulire deployed her weight in ensuring that her list was adopted by the State secretariat, while that of Enilolobo-led Alimosho APC Mainstream was left out. This action unknowingly set the stage for the loss of the presidential election in Alimosho LGA.

On election day, most of the polling agents deployed by Orelope Adefulire were inexperienced first-timers, some of whom had defected to other political parties. As a result, APC had no party agents in some of the 1545 polling units.

Enilolobo, having been briefed on the happenings in the polling units, personally went around some polling units to verify and quickly correct the situation, but it was too late. The situation worsened at the Collating Centre, where Comrade Alani Babatunde APC LGA Collation Agent nominated by Alimosho APC Mainstream and Hon Temitope Ogunyemi, a Ward Collation Agent, were physically assaulted by military men procured by the opposition parties.

Enilolobo, who led Shola Popoola and the rest out of the Collating Centre and saved them from being attacked by the opposition parties, was later attacked at his home by soldiers deployed by the opposition parties. The soldiers sealed the entrances to his street and adjourning streets, leading to the harassment and ransacking of his home.

The big question is, who is the gladiator here? Where was Hon Adejoke Orelope Adefulire in all these? Can someone who has put so much into the election now turn back and shoot himself in his legs? Can Hon Orelope Adefulire stand half of what Enilolobo experienced in the quest to see Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu triumph in Alimosho LGA?

Ayinde Enilolobo, the leader of the Alimosho APC Mainstream and a political gladiator of reckon in Lagos State and beyond, has shown unwavering determination and resilience in the face of adversity. His story and that of the 2023 general elections in Alimosho Federal Constituency must not be forgotten.