A political storm is quietly gathering in Apapa Local Government as the council chairman, Senbanjo Idowu Adejumoke, has reportedly refused to swear in a list of supervisory councillors and the Secretary to the Local Government (SLG) forwarded to local government chairmen across Lagos State, creating tension between her administration, party stakeholders, and the state government.
A few days ago, the Lagos State Government, through the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, sent a list of supervisors and key council officials to local government chairmen across the state. The directive was intended to help the councils constitute their executive teams and fully commence governance at the grassroots level.
Across many councils in Lagos, chairmen have already complied with the directive by swearing in their supervisors and administrative officials.
But in Apapa, the situation has taken a very different turn.
Chairman Senbanjo Idowu Adejumoke has reportedly refused to swear in the Secretary to the Local Government (SLG) despite pressure from the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, who is said to have urged her to proceed with the appointment.
Instead, the chairman is said to be running the council with only two supervisors, the only officials she appears willing to work with for now.
Sources close to the political structure in Apapa say the list of supervisors and the SLG was put together by party leaders and influential stakeholders who played key roles in ensuring Senbanjo’s emergence during the political process that produced the current administration.
For many of those leaders, the expectation was that the chairman would implement the list once she assumed office.
However, insiders say Senbanjo has firmly rejected the arrangement, insisting that she will not work with officials imposed on her through political arrangements.
Her position, according to sources familiar with the matter, is that the process that produced the list is unconstitutional and undermines the authority of the local government chairman to appoint members of her own executive team.
More significantly, sources say the chairman has made it clear that she is not interested in swearing in the SLG or the rest of the supervisors, and intends to continue working only with the two supervisors she currently trusts within her administration.
The development has reportedly angered several party stakeholders who believe the refusal represents a direct challenge to the political structure that helped secure her victory.
For leaders who claim they mobilised political influence, resources and grassroots support to ensure her emergence, the chairman’s stance is being interpreted by some as political independence and by others as open defiance of the party hierarchy.
Political observers say the unfolding situation reflects a familiar pattern in Nigerian grassroots politics the constant struggle between party power brokers and elected officials over control of appointments and administrative influence.
While party leaders often expect input in the formation of local government cabinets, elected officials sometimes resist once in office, insisting on their constitutional right to choose their own teams.
In Apapa, that struggle is now playing out in full view.
With the chairman refusing to swear in the SLG and the majority of the supervisors, the council is currently operating with a very limited executive structure, raising concerns about how long the standoff between the chairman, the political structure, and the state authorities will continue.
For residents of Apapa, the concern is simple: whether governance at the local level will become the casualty of an escalating political confrontation.
For political observers, however, the bigger question remains:
Will Chairman Senbanjo Idowu Adejumoke eventually bow to pressure from the state government and party leaders or will she continue to stand her ground and run Apapa with only the two supervisors she has chosen to work with?
