Prince Henry Oladele Ajomale, Apex Leader of Justice Forum (JF) in Isolo Local Government Area of Lagos State, and other party chieftains have charged members to rally themselves together, emphasising the need for unity and collaboration to ensure that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) remained stronger and a winning party.
JF is a political movement within the Lagos State chapter of the APC.
Ajomale, also a former party chairman in the state; the immediate past Chairman of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Dr. Abdul-Hakeem M. Abdullateef; Hon. Akeem Muniru, a former member of the House of Representatives; Hon. Bayo Olasoju, Chairman, Isolo Local Government Area; Hon. Ayodele Ayodeji, Chairman, Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), among others, made the call on Wednesday at the formal inauguration of the Forum exco, Isolo Branch, which took place in the Okota area of the state.
This was just as the leaders, in their various remarks, maintained that the Forum, which had existed for years and foisted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other key leaders into office, was not a parallel body to the ruling APC but was established to mobilise support for it, right from the grassroots.
On the issue of planned nationwide protests, the leaders outrightly charged parents and landlords in the state to educate the children and residents to chun it, recalling the devastating effect the last #EndSARS left on the state.
They highlighted various efforts by the federal and state governments to address the nation’s problems, assuring that Nigeria and Nigerians would very soon be out of the present quagmire, but quickly said that Lagos and the South West region should be left out of any protest.
Speaking at the inauguration, Prince Ajomale, who traced the establishment of the movement in 1989 from Primrose, metamorphosing into the present Justice Forum, noted that the purpose was to mobilise for the party and any of its candidates, irrespective of which group such candidate might belong to.
According to him, there has never been any physical misunderstanding on such matters between the Forum and its counterpart, the Mandate Group, adding, “Yes, today we have the Justice Forum; the leader is still our leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Ajomale, while highlighting the need for members to collaborate and work with strong determination ahead of 2027, however, noted that they had woken up now to prevent the repeat of the 2023 poll experience.
The former APC chairman said a mistake was made in 2023, leading to the defeat of the ruling APC in the presidential poll in Lagos State by the opposition Labour Party (LP), a development he noted had never happened in the state before.
“In 2023, we made a mistake. We were sleeping. They defeated us in Lagos, something that has never happened before.
“We have woken up now; it would never happen again. We can win if we put in more effort; we can defeat with determination. Now, we have started earlier so that our leaders will win with ease.
“We must ensure that we do not make the same mistake again. That mistake will not be repeated again. We are strong now; we are ready to fight the battle, and we will win,” Ajomale stated
“We don’t want to rival the party; that’s why we say whoever has had a post in the party should not accept a post in the Justice Forum.
“Whatever we want to do, let us do it with strong determination,” he added.
Dr. Abdul-Hakeem, also a former commissioner in the state, in his remarks also urged for unity, saying that leaders and members of the party should collaborate together as a family of the same mother to ensure victory for the APC.
He said the duty of every one of them in Isolo was to go back to their various wards and recognise the leadership, adding, “If you behave very well, you will be treated very well and respected.”
The former NDIC boss, who appreciated Prince Ajomale, Chairman of Isolo LG, Hon. Olasoju, among others for projecting the party in a good light, equally appreciated all the wards in the council areas, describing the turnout at the event as massive.
He later gave N100,000 each to each of the seven wards that attended the occasion, while Ilasa, which came with the largest turnout, had earlier won N50,000 from the coordinator, Hon. Jide Oni.
Also speaking, Hon. Muniru, a former member of the House of Representatives, recalled that Justice Forum had contributed a lot to the success of the party at large, having produced elected local government chairmen, State House of Assembly members, and Reps members, urging those members to return to their various wards to mobilise for the APC.
“That’s what we are doing now, and we shall succeed,” he prayed.
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