The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has expelled former Agege Local Government Chairman Ganiyu Kola Egunjobi and former Agege Constituency II aspirant Azeez Oladapo Yusuf, popularly known as Ninolowo, after both politicians secured Allied Peoples Movement tickets for the 2027 Lagos State House of Assembly election.

The decision has added a fresh and potentially consequential chapter to the political dispute that followed the APC’s nomination process in Agege Constituencies I and II.

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The Lagos APC announced the expulsion on Wednesday, September 23, through a statement signed by State Chairman Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi.

The party accused Egunjobi and Yusuf of anti-party activities, disloyalty and conduct considered contrary to its rules and discipline.

Both men had contested the APC primaries for Agege Constituency I and Constituency II respectively before subsequently emerging as APM candidates for the same seats.

The development followed an earlier dispute over the APC’s candidate selection in the two constituencies.

Egunjobi and Ninolowo had been reported as winners of the party’s May primaries, but the APC later listed different candidates for the constituencies.

According to the APC, the two politicians should have accepted the outcome of its internal nomination process or pursued the available avenues of redress within the party and under the law.

Instead, the party said, they obtained tickets from another political platform during the same electoral cycle.

The APC said the action breached Article 9(5)(II) of its 2022 amended constitution and constituted anti-party activity and disloyalty.

“Rather than respect the outcome of the Party’s internal democratic process and remain loyal to the platform on which they sought election, the two subsequently proceeded to obtain tickets from another political party,” the APC said.

The party also rejected the politicians’ purported resignations, describing them as a belated attempt to avoid the consequences of their actions.

The two politicians have offered a different account of the sequence of events.

Egunjobi and Yusuf said they had already resigned from the APC in July, weeks before the party announced their expulsion. They described the expulsion as “belated” and “politically unnecessary”.

Their position is that their departure followed their experience during the APC nomination process and what they described as serious grievances over the handling of the primaries.

The pair subsequently joined the APM and secured its tickets for Agege Constituencies I and II. Egunjobi is now set to face APC candidate Gbenga Abiola, while Yusuf will contest against APC candidate Enimakure Akindele Sakiru.

The two politicians have also denied reports that their decision to leave the APC was linked to Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa.

The latest confrontation can be traced to the APC’s 2026 House of Assembly nomination process.

Egunjobi contested for the Agege Constituency I ticket, while Yusuf sought the nomination for Constituency II.

Following the primaries, both disputed the eventual outcome, while the APC proceeded with different candidates for the two constituencies.

Their subsequent move to the APM transformed the internal party disagreement into a wider electoral contest.

The development has also prompted competing interpretations within Agege.

Supporters of the two politicians have questioned whether the underlying grievances could have been resolved through dialogue, while APC stakeholders have maintained that the party’s internal rules must be respected.

Agege APC stakeholders have also sought action against the defectors and their supporters, underscoring the growing political tension surrounding the constituencies.

With the two men now running under the APM, the dispute has moved from an internal APC matter to the wider 2027 electoral arena.

For the APC, the expulsion reinforces its position that candidates who lose internal contests cannot simply seek another party’s nomination while remaining within the APC structure.

For Egunjobi and Ninolowo, their decision to contest under the APM provides an alternative route to continue their political ambitions after theiracies and disciplinary action, leaving voters to ultimately determine how much influence the dispute will have when they disagreement with the APC nomination process.

The competing narratives mean the Agege contest is likely to remain closely watched as the 2027 election approaches.

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What began as a disagreement over party nominations has now produced defections, rival candidacies and disciplinary action, leaving voters to ultimately determine how much influence the dispute will have when they choose representatives for the Lagos State House of Assembly.