How Lagos APC Just Changed Its Political Future

Imagine being a lawmaker for years, knowing the chambers, the committees, which hands to shake and which backs to pat. Then one primary election comes along, and the party tells said lawmaker to pack their bags.

This is exactly what happened to 14 sitting members of the Lagos State House of Assembly. They lost. And not in a general election, in their own party’s primary.

The official list released by the Lagos APC Chapter reads like a political obituary. The affected members include Majority Leader Noheem Adams, Chief Whip Fatai Mojeed, Deputy Chief Whip Setonji David, and popular actor-turned-lawmaker Desmond Elliot. In total, 14 incumbents were denied renomination; two others chose to step aside; only 24 survived.

What caused this bloodbath? The answer traces back to 2025, when a failed attempt to unseat Speaker Mudashiru Obasa created fractures that never healed. In the silent but unforgiving tradition of Lagos political strategy, where loyalty became the ultimate currency, and perceived rebellion carried consequences, the primaries served as a battlefield where those loyalties were directly renegotiated or punished.

Even deep-rooted familial ties to the party’s elite could not guarantee survival. Gbolahan Ogunleye, son of a prominent member of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), was soundly defeated. In other words, no one is untouchable.

Behind the upheaval seems to lie a larger strategy. The party leadership is systematically clearing out senior incumbents to accommodate a younger generation of politicians. With Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat heavily positioned for the governorship in 2027, creating a synchronised, strictly loyal legislative structure is imperative. The old power brokers had to go.

But there is a risk. Experts analyse that some may quietly sabotage, while others may defect to opposition parties. Whichever the case and outcome, the Lagos APC has just remodelled itself. Now it must survive its own transformation.