A fresh political storm is brewing in Apapa Local Government after the council chairman, Senbanjo Idowu Adejumoke, reportedly defied the Lagos State Government’s directive on the composition of her executive council and conducted a late-night swearing-in ceremony for a new set of officials.
According to sources familiar with the development, the Lagos State Government, through the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, had earlier forwarded a list of 16 nominees to the Apapa chairman to constitute the local government’s executive council.
The list reportedly included the Secretary to the Local Government (SLG) and several supervisory councillors expected to form the administrative backbone of the council.
However, in a move that has sparked political tension within the Apapa political structure, Chairman Senbanjo did not fully adopt the list provided by the state government.
Sources say the chairman selected only five names from the list of 16, one of which included the SLG, while discarding the remaining eleven nominees.
In a dramatic twist, Senbanjo reportedly added ten new names of her own choosing individuals who were not part of the list sent by the state government.
Late Tuesday night, the chairman is said to have quietly conducted a swearing-in ceremony, inaugurating the newly assembled executive team made up of the five selected from the state list and the ten additional appointees she personally introduced.
The move has sent shockwaves through the local political establishment, particularly among party leaders and stakeholders believed to have played major roles in compiling the original list forwarded from the state level.
Political insiders say the development effectively means the chairman rejected eleven of the nominees endorsed by the Lagos State political structure, replacing them with individuals she prefers to work with.
While details of the late-night ceremony are still emerging, sources say the decision was taken to quickly establish a working executive team under her leadership rather than continue negotiations over the composition of the council cabinet.
The development is now being interpreted by many political observers as a bold assertion of authority by the Apapa chairman, who appears determined to shape her administration on her own terms despite pressure from political stakeholders.
Within Apapa’s political circles, reactions remain mixed. While some view the move as a necessary step for the chairman to build a team she trusts, others see it as a direct challenge to the political structure that helped produce her emergence.
The situation now sets the stage for what could become a significant political confrontation between the Apapa council leadership and powerful stakeholders within the Lagos political establishment.
As the dust settles from the unexpected late-night swearing-in, attention will now turn to how the state government and party leadership respond to a development many insiders say has altered the political equation in Apapa Local Government.
