A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Fouad Alade Oki, has raised serious concerns over the alarmingly low voter turnout recorded during the July 12, 2025 Lagos State Local Government elections, warning that the development poses a grave threat to the party\u2019s chances in the 2027 general elections.<\/p>\n
In a detailed preliminary report addressed to the leadership of the Lagos APC, Oki described the turnout as \u201ccatastrophic,\u201d revealing that internal party figures and field intelligence indicate that no more than 6% of the over 6.8 million Permanent Voter Card (PVC) holders participated in the polls. This figure marks a sharp decline from the 11% turnout recorded in the 2021 local government elections and falls far below national averages for general elections.<\/span><\/p>\n Although the APC clinched all 20 chairmanship seats and 375 out of 376 councillorship positions, Oki stressed that the results merely paper over a deepening crisis within the party\u2019s ranks. He described the victory as \u201chollow,\u201d arguing that it was not backed by a legitimate democratic mandate but instead reflected widespread voter apathy, disenchantment, and a troubling disconnect between the ruling party and the electorate.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe people didn\u2019t vote against us\u2014they simply didn\u2019t vote at all,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a silent vote of no confidence not just in the APC but in the political establishment as a whole.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Neglected Demographics, Internal Failings<\/span><\/p>\n Oki\u2019s report also pointed to critical failings in the party\u2019s outreach efforts, particularly among key demographic blocs such as the Arewa and Igbo communities in Lagos, as well as the youth and economically vulnerable populations.<\/span><\/p>\n According to him, the Arewa community\u2014concentrated in areas like Agege, Mushin, Ojo, and Kosofe\u2014has long been a reliable support base for the APC due in large part to the influence of former President Muhammadu Buhari. However, following Buhari\u2019s death, the party has failed to maintain meaningful engagement with this bloc, resulting in feelings of neglect and marginalization.<\/span><\/p>\n Similarly, the Igbo community, despite repeated overtures, reportedly remains deeply skeptical of the APC. Oki attributed this mistrust to historical grievances, perceived political exclusion, and a lack of empathetic, culturally nuanced outreach.<\/span><\/p>\n The report was especially critical of the APC\u2019s internal party structures, which Oki described as \u201cineffective, outmoded, and largely disconnected from today\u2019s political realities.\u201d He cited poor communication, weak mobilization, resource mismanagement, and the imposition of candidates as some of the key factors contributing to disillusionment at the grassroots level.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur Ward and LGA leadership structures are broken. The youth are shut out, loyal party workers are overlooked, and there is an overwhelming perception that the system is rigged from within,\u201d he stated.<\/span><\/p>\n 2027: A Looming Crisis<\/span><\/p>\n With voter trust eroding and party structures under strain, Oki warned that the APC risks losing Lagos as a stronghold if immediate and sweeping reforms are not implemented.<\/span><\/p>\n He warned of the potential emergence of a united and charismatic opposition force that could galvanize disaffected voters\u2014particularly the youth\u2014if the party fails to address the root causes of political apathy and disenfranchisement.<\/span><\/p>\n Among the consequences he listed were:<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Diminished moral authority to govern<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 A shrinking and unreliable voter base<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Heightened internal party strife and possible defections<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Loss of Lagos\u2019 strategic advantage in national politics<\/span><\/p>\n A Call for Urgent Review, Not Voter Registration<\/span><\/p>\n Oki criticized the party\u2019s proposal to commence another mass voter registration drive in August, describing it as \u201ca profoundly misguided impression.\u201d He argued that rather than seeking to register new voters, the party must first investigate why those who are already registered chose to stay away from the polls.<\/span><\/p>\n To this end, he recommended an <\/span>urgent intra-party conference<\/span> exclusively for APC insiders with election management experience. This conference, he said, should undertake a rigorous post-mortem of the July 12 elections\u2014assessing candidate selection, campaign effectiveness, logistics, and voter engagement failures.<\/span><\/p>\n Only after such a review, he said, should the party consider launching new voter registration efforts\u2014this time embedded within a broader strategy of party reform, inclusivity, and trust-building.<\/span><\/p>\n Key Recommendations<\/span><\/p>\n Oki\u2019s report concluded with a call for a comprehensive overhaul of the APC\u2019s internal leadership structures, including:<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Empowerment of youth through meaningful leadership roles at the ward and LGA levels<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Inclusion of underrepresented groups such as the Arewa and Igbo communities<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Capacity building and training for grassroots party officials<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Restoration of internal democracy through credible, transparent primaries and elections<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Performance-based evaluation of party officials<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe July 12 elections are a red flag. If we ignore it, we do so at our peril,\u201d Oki warned. \u201cThe future of the APC in Lagos and nationally depends on what we do next. The time for self-congratulations is over. The time for honest reflection and bold reforms is now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The report has since sparked internal debates within the party, with many grassroots members reportedly supporting the call for reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Fouad Alade Oki, has raised serious concerns over the alarmingly low voter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15710"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15712,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15710\/revisions\/15712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenewsnow.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}