Apapa chairman cabinet crisis erupts after Senbanjo Adejumoke reportedly rejects state nominees and conducts late-night swearing-in
The Chairman of Apapa Local Government, Senbanjo Idowu Adejumoke, has reportedly triggered a fresh political crisis after rejecting most of the nominees forwarded by the Lagos State Government for the council’s executive council and conducting a late-night swearing-in for a new set of officials.
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Sources familiar with the development said the Lagos State Government, through the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, had earlier submitted a list of 16 nominees to the chairman to form the administrative structure of the local government.
The list reportedly included the Secretary to the Local Government and several supervisory councillors expected to serve as key members of the council’s executive team.
However, the chairman allegedly adopted only five of the nominees from the list, including the Secretary to the Local Government, while discarding the remaining eleven names.
In a decisive move that has stirred intense political debate, Senbanjo reportedly added ten new individuals of her own choosing who were not part of the original list submitted by the state authorities.
Sources said the chairman quietly conducted a swearing-in ceremony late on Tuesday night, formally inaugurating the new executive council made up of the five selected from the state list and the ten additional appointees she introduced.
The development has reportedly sent shockwaves through Apapa’s political structure, particularly among party leaders and stakeholders believed to have played significant roles in compiling the original list forwarded to the council chairman.
Political insiders say the move effectively amounts to a rejection of eleven nominees endorsed by the state political establishment, replacing them with individuals the chairman prefers to work with.
While full details of the late-night ceremony are still emerging, sources indicated that the decision was taken to quickly constitute a functioning executive team rather than prolong negotiations over the composition of the council cabinet.
Observers within the local political space interpret the development as a bold assertion of authority by the Apapa chairman, signalling her determination to shape the administration according to her priorities despite pressure from political stakeholders.
Reactions within Apapa’s political circles remain divided. Some view the move as a strategic effort to assemble a trusted team capable of delivering on governance, while others see it as a direct challenge to the political structure that supported her emergence.
The situation is now widely seen as setting the stage for a potential political confrontation between the Apapa council leadership and influential figures within the Lagos political establishment.
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Attention is expected to turn in the coming days to how the state government and party leadership respond to a development that many insiders say has significantly altered the political dynamics in Apapa Local Government.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
