THE PRICE OF BETRAYAL: HOW DR. KEHINDE SOGUNLE TRADED OUR PARTY’S FUTURE FOR HIS PDP AMBITION

By Kika Glasgow, Publicity Secretary, Ogun State Labour Party

SOGUNLE

Abeokuta, Ogun State — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the final list of candidates for the 2027 governorship and State House of Assembly elections in Ogun State. The Labour Party is conspicuously absent. 

Let that sink in.

A party that produced the presidency in the 2023 presidential election in Ogun State. A party that mobilised millions of Nigerian youth, artisans, market women, and the downtrodden. A party built on the sweat and sacrifice of ordinary members across the 20 local government areas of this state.

Today, we have no governorship candidate on the INEC list. Today, we have no House of Assembly candidates on the INEC list. We have been erased from the ballot in Ogun State.

And who is responsible? Dr. Kehinde Sogunle.

THE CHAIN OF EVENTS

We saw this coming.  We unveiled Hon. Mojisola Oluwaseun Ajayi as our consensus governorship candidate for 2027.  We presented candidates for all elective positions through consensus.  We told the world that the Labour Party was one body, one family, ready to rescue Ogun State from political robbers. 

That unity was deliberately sabotaged.

Dr. Kehinde Sogunle, who has never renounced his membership of the Labour Party, proceeded to create a parallel executive led by Alhaji Onabiyi Ibrahim to rival the legitimate executive led by Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde. This parallel structure was not an organic expression of internal democracy. It was a calculated instrument of destruction, designed to create the exact confusion that INEC cited in refusing to recognise our candidates.

Let us be clear about what has happened. A man who is serving as Director-General of the Ladi Adebutu Campaign Organisation for the PDP—a man who writes publicly praising the PDP template and attacking the APC—has also been holding onto his Labour Party membership while engineering a factional crisis that has now destroyed the Labour Party’s chances in Ogun State.

THE SOGUNLE PLAYBOOK

This is not new. This is the same playbook Dr. Sogunle executed in 2023.

In 2023, he joined the Labour Party, pretending to be a serious contender for the governorship position. When he could not get the ticket, he took the rest of the Labour Party members to form an alliance with the PDP for monetary gain. He received over N230 million in his personal account, disbursed it without transparency, and failed to account for it.

Now, in 2027, he has done it again. But this time, the damage is far worse. This time, he has not just hijacked the party’s money. He has hijacked the party’s very existence.

He created a parallel executive. He caused the internal crisis that led to INEC refusing to recognise our candidates. He has effectively taken the Labour Party off the ballot in Ogun State. And he has done all of this while simultaneously serving as the Director-General of the PDP’s governorship campaign.

The Labour Party in Ogun State has been sacrificed on the altar of Dr. Sogunle’s personal ambition. Thousands of candidates who invested their resources, their time, and their hopes into contesting under our platform have been denied their rightful place on the ballot.

THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

We have heard the pain in the voice of our members. Comrade Olayemi Olalekan, the Labour Party Chairman of Sagamu Local Government and Chairman of the Chairmen Forum, captured the anguish of the grassroots in his weekend message:

“What is our gain in the Labour Party? What are the benefits of being a member Elupee? Is our labor not in vain? Are all the monies spent simply wasted away, all because of issues and selfish interests? All the travel, night calls, data, recharge cards, etc., seem to be wasted.

He asked the questions that every Labour Party member in Ogun State is asking today: 

 Where is the power of having been in the Labour Party for the past 20 years? Why have our leaders allowed selfish interests to destroy our great party?

These are legitimate questions. And the answer is simple: Dr. Kehinde Sogunle and his co-travellers placed their personal ambition above the collective future of our party.

OUR POSITION: WE ARE ON TOP OF THE SITUATION

To every Labour Party member across the 20 local government areas of Ogun State, we say: be calm. We are on top of the situation.

The legitimate leadership of the Ogun State Labour Party, under State Chairman Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde, is taking all necessary steps to address this crisis. We are exploring every available legal and constitutional avenue to protect the interests of our members and restore the party to its rightful place on the ballot.

We call on all members to remain law-abiding and peaceful. Do not take the law into your own hands. Do not allow yourselves to be provoked by the agents of destruction who are working for the PDP. The courts will settle this. The truth will prevail.

We also call on the National Working Committee of the Labour Party, under the legitimate leadership of National Chairman Senator Nenadi Esther Usman—elected at the historic Umuahia National Convention of 28th April 2026—to intervene decisively.  The National Chairman has already demonstrated her commitment to reconciliation and integration.  We urge her to apply that same spirit here in Ogun State by affirming the legitimate executive led by Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde and sanctioning Dr. Kehinde Sogunle and Alhaji Onabiyi Ibrahim for anti-party activities.

We also call on INEC to review its decision. The Labour Party has candidates. The Labour Party has a legitimate executive. We have candidates.  We should not be denied participation in the 2027 elections because one man chose to serve two masters.

TO THE PEOPLE OF OGUN STATE 

> The people of Ogun State have seen the true colours of Dr. Kehinde Sogunle. A man who lectures the public about institutional integrity while destroying the institutions of the party that gave him a platform. A man who preaches about prebendalism while practising the very transactional politics he condemns.

The Labour Party remains the authentic vehicle for the emancipation of the masses. We may have been temporarily knocked down, but we are not out. We are rebuilding. We are reconciling. And we will return stronger.

Dr. Sogunle may have sold our party’s yesterday for thirty pieces of silver. But that of today and tomorrow shall be redeemed and secured henceforth.

E-Signed,

Kika Glasgow

Publicity Secretary, Ogun State Labour Party

October 11, 2026

At Last, Labour Party National Catches Up With Divisive Barrister Affiong, Suspends Her As The Lagos State Chair

 The Labor Party National leadership has suspended the self-styled and deceitful Lagos State Chairman of the Party Barrister Affiong L. Affiong and Secretary.

The national leadership reconstituted new state working committee for the  with Comrade Bamishe as the new state chairman for Lagos State Labour party.

What the Nenadi Usman led national leadership condoned or failed to acknowledged about Barrister Affiong and Madam Nike Oriola Job divisiveness have paralyzed the party in the south west zone.  The atrocities committed by the dou in grinding the party to a state of halt in the region knows no bound, although there is nothing to write home about the other zones too since the national convention in Abia State when states leaderships were wrongly jectitioned in the name of reconciliation with Barrister Julius Abure factions.

Read the details of her suspension and constitution of a new state working committee by the LP national 

The Labour Party in Nigeria needs a total rebuilding with people of genuine intentions and good characters as the current leadership both at the states and national are full of defective and deceitful elements unworthy to front for the party.

What do you think?

OGUN LABOUR PARTY: KEHINDE SOGUNLE, A POLITICAL MERCENARY, NOT A SOCIAL DEMOCRAT

By Kika Glasgow, Publicity Secretary, Ogun State Labour Party_

Abeokuta, Ogun State — The Ogun State Labour Party has read with utter disbelief the latest political treatise by Dr. Kehinde Sogunle, who parades himself as Director-General of the Ladi Adebutu Campaign Organisation (LCO) for the 2027 gubernatorial election, while conveniently refusing to renounce his membership of our great party.

Let it be stated unambiguously: Dr. Sogunle is not a member of the Labour Party in any moral or political sense. He is a political opportunist who has consistently treated our party as a transactional vehicle to be boarded, exploited, and discarded at will. His latest intellectual gymnastics, dressed in the borrowed robes of Richard Joseph’s prebendalism, is nothing but a desperate attempt to sanitise a career built on the very political predation he now claims to condemn.

*THE 2023 ALLIANCE: A CASE STUDY IN TRANSACTIONAL POLITICS*

The public record is clear. In March 2023, Dr. Sogunle, having failed to secure the Labour Party governorship ticket and having seen his candidacy excluded from the INEC list, unilaterally collapsed the Labour Party structure into an alliance with the PDP, just 24 hours before the governorship election. He charged all Obidients and Labour Party members to vote for the PDP’s Ladi Adebutu, a decision that was never ratified by any competent organ of the party.

What Dr. Sogunle has never explained — and what our current State Chairman, Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde, has now publicly confirmed — is the financial dimension of that alliance. A substantial sum, running into over two hundred and thirty million naira, was eventually agreed by him to have been released to facilitate the logistics of that electoral collaboration. Dr. Sogunle, who positioned himself as the principal recipient, allegedly never disbursed the funds to the party structures that were expected to execute the alliance on the ground.

When party members confronted him, he initially claimed the money was given to him personally. Only under sustained pressure did he release a paltry N300,000 to each local government chairman and sums of N4,000,000 and above to a select group of close allies and those who threatened to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). This is the conduct of a man who has the audacity to lecture Ogun State on institutional integrity.

*THE PREBENDALISM IRONY: POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK*

Dr. Sogunle’s article invokes the scholarly concept of prebendalism to attack Senator Solomon Adeola and the APC. We make no defence of the APC, but we note the profound hypocrisy. Prebendalism, as Richard Joseph defined it, describes a system where state offices are captured to sustain patron-client networks and procure electoral compliance. Is this not precisely what Dr. Sogunle himself represents?

He joined the Labour Party not out of ideological conviction but as a placeholder for a larger political transaction. He used our platform to negotiate an alliance that served his personal interests. He held onto a Labour Party membership while simultaneously serving as the Director-General of a rival party’s campaign. And he now writes eloquent treatises about “institutional architecture” while his own political career has been an exercise in institutional vandalism.

The proof of Dr. Sogunle’s true character lies not in his prose but in his practice. He is the very embodiment of the transactional politician he claims to despise.

*THE NATIONAL BODY MUST ACT*

The Labour Party, under the legitimate leadership of National Chairman Senator Nenadi Esther Usman, is a party of principle, built on the pillars of social justice, equity, and the dignity of labour. It is not a political hostel where aspirants lodge temporarily before checking into the highest bidder’s mansion. 

We therefore call on the National Working Committee of the Labour Party, under Senator Nenadi Usman, to immediately institute disciplinary proceedings against Dr. Kehinde Sogunle for anti-party activities. His continued claim to Labour Party membership while openly directing the campaign of another party’s gubernatorial candidate is a flagrant violation of our constitution and a betrayal of every member who shed sweat and resources to build this party in Ogun State.

The National body must also demand a full account of the funds that were deployed during the 2023 LP-PDP alliance. If Dr. Sogunle received money in the name of the Labour Party and failed to remit it, that is not merely an internal disciplinary matter; it is a matter for the anti-graft agencies.

*TO THE PEOPLE OF OGUN STATE*

We urge the good people of Ogun State to see Dr. Sogunle for what he is: a political merchant who trades in the currency of deception. His belated rediscovery of progressive politics, his sudden romance with institutional reform, and his theatrical denunciation of prebendalism are all part of a script written for the benefit of his current paymasters.

The Labour Party in Ogun State remains the authentic vehicle for the emancipation of the masses. Under the leadership of our State Chairman, Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde, and the national leadership of Senator Nenadi Usman, we are rebuilding our structures, reconciling our ranks, and preparing to present a credible, people-centred alternative in 2027. We do not need the contaminated endorsements of political itinerants.

Dr. Sogunle may write as many articles as he wishes. He may quote scholars and invoke lofty concepts. But the people of Ogun State know the difference between a man who builds institutions and a man who plunders them. They know the difference between a committed progressive and a transactional politician.

The Labour Party stands with the former. Dr. Sogunle belongs to the latter.

Signed,

*Kika Glasgow*

Publicity Secretary, Ogun State Labour Party

October 6, 2026

LABOUR PARTY: APAGUN'S WARD PASSES VOTE OF CONFIDENCE ON HIS LEADERSHIP

Declares April 25th State Congress Sacrosanct

Apagun 

Abeokuta — The ward of the embattled Ogun State Labour Party Chairman, Apagun Olaolu Samuel, has passed a vote of confidence on his leadership, describing him as an astute and pragmatic politician whose legacy remains a blessing to the party in the state.

The endorsement came during a special Independent Day ward general meeting held at Ita-Agemo Igbein, Abeokuta, in the company of the congress-elected Abeokuta South Local Government Chairman, Abdul Waheed Popoola, and other party faithful.

Speaking at the meeting, the Ward Chairman, Abd Quadri Isma'eel, showered encomiums on Apagun, noting that his leadership style has brought stability, discipline and renewed hope to the Labour Party in Ogun State.

He described Apagun as a grassroots mobilizer whose commitment to internal democracy and party growth is unmatched,  alleging the enemies of internal democracy and transactional leaders unknown to the grassroots as viruses plaguing the party in the state 

Members of the ward, in a unanimous voice, later passed a vote of confidence on Apagun's leadership, insisting that the April 25th State Congress which produced him and others in his cabinet remains sacrosanct and cannot be upturned by any manufactured list.

"We stand solidly behind our son and leader. The April 25th congress was duly conducted and monitored by INEC. Any other claim is null and void," Isma'eel declared.

In his remarks, Abd Waheed Popoola reaffirmed the position of Abeokuta South LGA executives, pledging their loyalty to the congress-elected leadership, as any other laying claim through the strokes of pen should come up with the proof of their April 25th Congress.

Responding during the meeting, Apagun Olaolu Samuel said God is in control, all hands must be on deck as the leadership at the state level is not sleeping over the burning issues. "Soonest, the substance shall be separated from the chaff, the interest of the enemy is to demarket the party and run down her popularity ahead of 2027 elections, we shall not engage them in a way that will fast track their goal" he concluded.

The meeting ended with chants of solidarity as members vowed to resist any attempt to impose alien leadership on the party in Ogun State.

It should be noted that the attempted illegal usurpation of Ogun State is currently before a competent Court of Jurisdiction in the state.

Dare Popoola 

HEARING DATE FIXED AS APAGUN DRAGS NENADI LED LABOUR PARTY, INEC TO COURT

Alleges Manufacture of New State Officers Against April 25th Legitimate Congress

Apagun

Abeokuta — The crisis rocking the Labour Party in Ogun State has taken a new turn as Apagun Olaolu Samuel dragged the Senator Nenadi Usman led national leadership of the Labour Party, the beneficiaries of hastily and illegal concocted office made state Congress results and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court over alleged manipulation of the state congress results.

Apagun, who claims to be the duly elected State Chairman from the congress held and monitored by INEC officials on the 25th of April this year, with the DSS and Nigerian Police on ground is accusing the parties of jettisoning the legitimate outcome to manufacture and recognize a new set of state officers without any Congress.

In the suit number FHC/AB/CS/123/2026 filed at the court, Apagun is praying for an order to nullify the purported list of officers currently paraded as executives of the party in the state, and to compel INEC who had at a time sent a copy of the Congress report to the Nigerian Police Ogun State Headquarters to affirm the true leadership of Ogun State Labour Party in May when there was an issues over the state Secretariat of the party between Chief Mrs Oluwabukola Aṣabi Sogoye and Com. Lookman Abiodun Jagun to recognize and publish only the names of those who emerged from the April 25th congress as delivered to the Police department.

According to him, the April 25th exercise was conducted in line with the party constitution, duly observed by INEC monitors, and produced clear winners across all positions. He described any other list in circulation as a product of illegality and an affront to democratic principles.

“The congress of April 25 was free, fair and monitored. What we are seeing now is a deliberate attempt to replace the will of delegates with manufactured names. The court must intervene to protect internal democracy,” a source close to Apagun said.

When INEC Ogun state Secretariat was visited, Apagun Olaolu Samuel, whose name was in their records as pasted on their notice board since April had been removed since August 17th and Awaiting instructions from National written therein as officials of INEC in Ogun State declined to comment, on the court processes. Efforts to get a reaction from the Labour Party national secretariat were also unsuccessful as at press time.

The development is the latest in a series of legal battles that have plagued the Labour Party in Ogun State and Nigeria in recent time, with rival factions laying claim to the state leadership.

Political observers say the outcome of the case could determine the direction of the party ahead of future elections in the state.

The hearing date has been fixed for Wednesday, 30th of September, 2026.

Senator Nenad Usman who hitherto has been enjoying a momentum supports loose credibility immediately after the national convention of the part in Abia state when her decided to walk against all the convention ratification.

Congresses conducted through the Wards, Local government and States were ratified by the national convention. After the convention, many of the state leadership were abruptly replaced. 

The party currently is nothing to recon with as per the next year general elections.

Osun’s 2026 verdict and what it means for Nigeria’s opposition

BITTER PILLS; THRILLING RECOVERY, DRIZZLING PERFORMANCE

Politics in Nigeria rarely comes without bitterness. In Osun State, the August 15, 2026 governorship election served another dose.

Governor Ademola Adeleke has emerged victorious, weathering what his camp described as political intimidation and the weight of federal might deployed against him. It is a win that feels less like a stroll and more like a trek through thorns — hence the _bitter pills_. But the recovery has been thrilling, and the performance, though uneven in places, has been drizzling steadily enough to convince voters to grant him a second term. 

The Battle Against the Odds

Adeleke’s re-election bid was never framed as business as usual. Running this time on the platform of the Accord Party, after leaving the PDP amid national crisis, he faced the APC’s Bola Oyebamiji and ADC’s Dr. Najeem Salaam in what observers called another highly competitive contest. 

In the run-up, Adeleke himself alleged killings of party members and called on President Bola Tinubu to direct the police to act professionally and impartially. He described 2025 as “a challenging year due to external constraints” and warned against “beating drums of war” ahead of the poll. 

Yet the governor leaned on what he called people-centred governance and visible projects across the state. His campaign council, inaugurated in Osogbo, promised grassroots mobilisation “at the wards and local government level”. The message was simple: performance over propaganda, calculated inauguration of projects in virtually all constituencies to force out his admirers and non admirers particularly amongst the traditional rulers to a reelection campaign laced with an appealing projects

“If this election is free and fair, I will win,” Adeleke said on the campaign trail. With less than 15 days to go, he declared “NO SHAKING, Imole is coming back”. Analysts also noted his long-standing relationship with civil servants, artisans and trade groups as assets. 

Labour Party: The Missed Opportunity

While Adeleke was consolidating, the Labour Party was bleeding internally as a blissful opportunity were being lost in the process

The 2023 and 2024 political realignments created an opening. Several disrupted and evicted incumbent Governors of the PDP, frustrated by internal wrangling at the national level, looked for new platforms. Labour Party, with its post-2023 momentum, should have been the natural refuge. Instead, internal squabbles, factionalism, and lack of structure turned it into a waiting room with no exit.

The result: most of those PDP governors and heavyweights either returned to mend fences, moved to APC, or sat out. Labour Party failed to harvest them. What could have been a national expansion became a period of self-inflicted losses.

In Osun, that void mattered. Without a credible third-force structure, the contest narrowed to Accord, APC and ADC. Labour’s absence meant there was no serious alternative to absorb protest votes or disgruntled PDP structures. Adeleke would have preferred Labour Party at the time he was shopping for a platform and ultimately have added immensely to our structure, unfortunately the harvest slipped out.

Drizzling Performance, Thrilling Recovery

Adeleke’s first term was defined by infrastructure, welfare programs, and a deliberate effort to be seen and felt in the grassroots. Critics argued about concentration of projects around Ede, but supporters point to the “difference that purposeful, people-centred governance can make”. 

He nearly became a politically stagnated orphan at a period in time, it was rumoured that powers that be denied him an appointment for a meeting but communicated him through a first class Yoruba king that he should go and join the ruling party, every attempt made by him to compromise was negated by Baba Kukuru, Esu lehin APC who loudly drum it to his ears that he will have to queue as the ticket will not be offered to him, that's a bitter pill to swallow. He encouraged himself further his search for another platform and landed in ACCORD PARTY, accordingly he became a man to celebrate today.

The recovery is thrilling because it came after 2022, when Adeleke defeated an incumbent with federal backing. To do it again in 2026, this time outside PDP, suggests a personal brand that transcends party lines. If re-elected, he would become only the second governor in Osun’s history to secure a second term. 

But the performance is still “drizzling” — steady, but not yet a downpour. Expectations on jobs, security, and inclusive development remain high, especially with rising insecurity flagged as a factor in 2026. 

*Time to Rethink and Recover Lost Ground*

Two lessons stand out.

1. For incumbents: People will reward delivery, even under pressure. Adeleke’s confidence came from pointing to tangible records, not just party structure. “_This team is heading to victory_,” he told his campaign council.

2. For the opposition: Labour Party’s failure to organize and accommodate displaced political forces was costly. The window to rethink is now. Without internal discipline, ideology, and structure, it risks remaining a movement of moments rather than a party of government. Many see the party as a transactional platform as many who did not toil in the party had managed to position themselves and political stooges in positions of power, ready for harvest in most states. Should this trend continue, we shall suffer existential threats and consequences 

Osun 2026 reminds us that Nigerian voters are watching. They will swallow bitter pills if the recovery feels real. They will ignore loud noise if the performance is only drizzling.

The question now is not just who won Osun. It is whether other parties — especially our own Labour Party — will learn fast enough to recover the grounds they lost, recreate a bigger platform for ideological opposition and alternatives before 2027 comes calling.

© Apagun Olaolu Samuel 

Chairman, Labour Party Ogun State 

egberunsaamu2206@gmail.com

LABOUR PARTY: FLYING ON BORROWED WINGS

Apagun 

A story was once told of a prideful, deceptive and a subtle tortoise who after loosing out in an animal kingdom decided to compete and complete the kingship rites and rituals in the birds kingdom. Some members of his family questioned his affinity with the birds kingdom and the possibilities of ceding out the kingship to him since he cannot fly. His wife and children reminded him that flying across seven rivers in their known world is part of the ceremonial rites. The tortoise assured his family that he had already settled the kingmakers, and telling his wife that he was called to come for the contest by the eagle because he was denied the right to become the king. Ostrich was equally in support because she couldn't fly across the seven rivers, she decided to give out feathers to support the tortoise together with some dissidents birds for him to complete the kingship rites. Despite the fact that the priests and diviners warned these rebellious birds to allow the Peacock chosen by divinity to become the king, they obstinately stood against the warning by the gods that the rats would not squeak like rats, the birds would not chirp like birds and humans will not speak like humans 

On the day of the completion of the rituals, a sacrifice must be carried by the king to be, so the tortoise begged eagle to carry him on her wings with the sacrifice at dawn to the sacred forest to place the sacrifice in front of the gods. On his way back on the wings of the eagle, sighting the town at a distance and the flocks of birds awaiting his arrival in the village square, he thanked the eagle for her support but begged her to let him be on his own as he had already glued the borrowed wings to his arm and legs to proof that he can fly. Eagle warned him against the decision, but before you can say Jack, he jumped from the eagle's back and cracked in pieces in the midst of the awaiting townsmen.

Politics in Ogun State has always been competitive. But right now, the Labour Party in the state is dealing with a distraction that threatens to drown out real work: a parallel faction built not by grassroots structure, but by a group of transactional politicians looking for shortcuts to relevance through the stroke of pen.

The trouble started when some individuals, who played little or no role in building the party from ward to state level, decided to announce a separate "exco." It was not done through congress. It was not recognized by the national constitution of the Labour Party but by some individuals at the national against the will of the people of Ogun State. It was simply declared, with memo and borrowed logos.

That is the problem. You cannot build legitimacy by photocopying it.

*The constitutional exco*  

The state executive Committee led by *Apagun Olaolu Samuel* emerged through the process laid out in the party constitution. The state congress produced officers with mandates from members on the ground. That is how political parties are supposed to function. Not by WhatsApp declarations, not by borrowing halls for parallel meetings.

This exco has been carrying out the basic work: reconciling members while the supposedly national leaders were outrightly kicking against such without first coming to beg for permission on performing our rights and obligations as Chairman, preparing for elections, and engaging communities on Labour Party ideals. It is not perfect. No new structure is. But it has the one thing the other group does not: a paper trail rooted in the party’s own rules and constitution 

*Why the parallel group exists*  

The second group is not an ideological split. It is a transactional arrangement. In Nigerian politics, we have seen this pattern before. When an election cycle approaches, some actors who could not win internal elections try to create a second center of power. The goal is not to grow the party. The goal is to negotiate. To get recognition. To sell access. To fly on wings that do not belong to them.

Borrowed wings cannot sustain flight. They look good in photos, but they have no roots in the wards, no structure in the LGAs, and no accountability to the members who knocked on doors in 2023. 

*The cost to Ogun Labour Party*  

1. *Confusion*: New members do not know which leadership to approach. That slows down mobilization.

2. *Resources wasted*: Time and money that should go into voter education and candidate grooming are spent fighting for letterheads.

3. *Credibility damaged*: Voters are watching. When a party cannot manage its own house, it becomes hard to ask the public to trust it with the state.

An oral history in the Ifa verses stated _" . . . lo difa fún Ológbò jigolo baba awo, nigba to nṣawo ròde Oyo, won ni eyin agba, é má j'obi to gbo, eyin agba, é má fẹ aya meji ni rogbarogba"_ literally meaning 'as Ologbo Jigolo was divinely instructed in those days, warning that the elders must not be attracted by the matured cola nuts, neither should they be engaged to two wives simultaneously. The instructions are simple, the elders should not take bribe neither should they double date.

*The way forward*  

Parties grow through discipline, not drama. The national leadership of the Labour Party must do three things quickly:

- *Affirm the constitutional exco*: Put it in writing. Circulate it to INEC, to stakeholders, and to the public in Ogun State. Ambiguity is what transactional politicians thrive on.

- *Sanction impersonation*: Anyone parading as an officer outside the constitutional process should be shown the door. Politics cannot reward forgery.

- *Open the door for real reconciliation*: Not for power-sharing with a parallel group, but for members who were genuinely aggrieved during congresses to be heard within the structure led by Apagun Olaolu Samuel.

Ogun Labour Party has a real opportunity. The appetite for alternatives is there. Young voters, artisans, teachers, and traders are looking for a party that speaks to competence and accountability. They will not wait while a few individuals argue over borrowed titles.

You do not build a movement by creating two heads. You build it by strengthening the one head that the constitution recognizes, and then making it work.

Borrowed wings might get you a few meters off the ground. But to fly in 2027, Ogun Labour Party needs its own wings. And right now, those wings are with the legally and constitutionally emerged state exco led by Apagun Olaolu Samuel.

© *Apagun Olaolu Samuel*

Chairman, 

Labour Party Ogun State

egberunsaamu2206@gmail.com

OGUN STATE LABOUR PARTY: RE: REBUTTAL OF THE ILLEGITIMATE STATEMENT BY ALHAJI IBRAHIM ONABIYI – SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT ON MY STATUS AND THE ILLEGALITY OF THEIR PARALLEL STRUCTURE

 PRESS STATEMENT BY THE OGUN STATE PUBLICITY SECRETARY OF THE LABOUR PARTY

(APAGUN OLAOLU SAMUEL BABATUNDE-LED STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE)

Date: July 17, 2026

RE: REBUTTAL OF THE ILLEGITIMATE STATEMENT BY ALHAJI IBRAHIM ONABIYI – SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT ON MY STATUS AND THE ILLEGALITY OF THEIR PARALLEL STRUCTURE

Kika

Our attention has been drawn to the desperate and misleading press statement issued on July 16, 2026, by one Alhaji Ibrahim Onabiyi, who parades himself as Labour Party Chairman of Ogun State through a purely illegal and unconstitutional process. In that statement, they made several false claims, including the allegation that I, Hon. Kika Glasgow, am a member of the National Democratic Coalition (NDC) and therefore cannot serve as the Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party.

We categorically state that while I did resign from the Labour Party at a point and joined the NDC, I have since withdrawn my resignation, returned to the Labour Party, and have been fully reinstated as the duly elected Publicity Secretary of the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led Ogun State Executive Committee. I am no longer a member of the NDC – I am a bona fide, card-carrying member of the Labour Party. The opponents are clutching at a past event that has been rectified, in a vain attempt to distract from their own constitutional violations.

This statement serves to:

1. Set the records straight on my current status.

2. Expose the illegality of the so-called "harmonisation" that produced the Onabiyi faction.

3. Reiterate the supremacy of the Labour Party Constitution and the rule of law.

FACTS OF THE MATTER – MY STATUS CLARIFIED

1. I was duly elected as State Publicity Secretary at the authentic State Congress of the Labour Party in Ogun State held on April 25, 2026, where Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde emerged as the valid State Chairman.

2. I later submitted a resignation letter and joined the NDC for personal reasons.

3. However, I withdrew that resignation and officially returned to the Labour Party. Following due process, I was reinstated as the State Publicity Secretary of the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led Executive Committee.

4. As of today, I am not a member of the NDC. I am a loyal and active member of the Labour Party, holding a validly elected position.

5. The allegation that I am currently a member of another party is false – it is a distortion of a past event that has been fully resolved.

The opponents  are resorting to cheap blackmail and fabrication to undermine our legitimate leadership.

THE SO-CALLED "HARMONISATION" – A KANGAROO EXERCISE

Mrs. Oriola Nike Job, the National Deputy Chairman (South), convened what she deceitfully called a "harmonisation meeting" only after she realised that Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde had won the state congress fair and square.

This so-called harmonisation:

· Was never a congress – it was a mere gathering of a few handpicked individuals.

· Had no constitutional basis – the Labour Party Constitution does not recognise "harmonisation" as a substitute for a properly conducted State Congress.

· Was not advertised to all party members.

· Was not monitored by INEC.

· Produced a parallel executive that has no mandate from the Ogun State party members.

The truth is simple: Mrs. Oriola Nike Job did not like the outcome of the democratic process, so she decided to impose her preferred candidate, Alhaji Ibrahim Onabiyi, through the backdoor. This is a flagrant abuse of office and a direct assault on internal democracy.

THE LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION – WHY THEIR STRUCTURE IS NULL AND VOID

1. Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) mandates that political parties shall conduct periodic elections for their executive committees on a democratic basis. The "harmonisation" exercise was not democratic – it was an imposition.

2. The Labour Party Constitution vests the authority to organise State Congresses in the duly elected State Executive Committees. No National Officer, including the National Deputy Chairman (South), has the power to bypass the State Executive and impose a parallel structure.

3. INEC's own portal still recognises Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde as the State Chairman of the Labour Party in Ogun State. This is incontrovertible evidence that the Commission acknowledges our legitimacy and rejects the illegal parallel structure.

4. Judicial precedents – In the recent ADC case, the Court of Appeal affirmed that state congresses conducted in violation of party constitution and court orders are invalid, and that the responsibility for organising congresses rests with State Executives, not national leadership. The court also barred INEC from recognising such illegal congresses. Similarly, the Supreme Court in the PDP Ibadan Convention case nullified a convention held in violation of a court order, holding that such actions amount to making a mockery of the judiciary.

By all legal standards, the Onabiyi-led parallel structure is a nullity.

REBUTTAL OF SPECIFIC FALSE CLAIMS

False Claim Truth

"Glasgow Kika is a member of NDC and cannot be Publicity Secretary." I resigned and joined NDC temporarily, but I withdrew my resignation, returned to LP, and was reinstated. I am not currently a member of NDC.

"The harmonisation produced a legitimate State Executive." The harmonisation was an illegal imposition, not a congress. It violated the Party Constitution and INEC guidelines.

"Apagun Olaolu has no authority to suspend officials." That is correct – but we are not the ones suspending anyone. They are the ones who have no authority to even exist as an executive.

"INEC should disregard Apagun Olaolu." INEC's portal still recognises Apagun Olaolu as Chairman – the Commission knows the truth.

OUR DEMANDS AND WARNING

TO THE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP OF THE LABOUR PARTY AND MRS. ORIOLA NIKE JOB:

We demand that you:

1. Immediately withdraw recognition from the illegal Onabiyi parallel structure.

2. Publicly affirm Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde as the authentic State Chairman of Ogun State.

3. Cease all interference in the affairs of the Ogun State chapter.

4. Direct INEC to release the access code to our legitimate State Executive to upload our candidates.

We put you on NOTICE that if these demands are not met within 7 days, we shall proceed to court.

TO ALHAJI IBRAHIM ONABIYI AND HIS COHORTS:

Your illegal occupation of party structures and your baseless allegations against me will not stand. You are merely trying to divert attention from your own constitutional violations.

We have reported your criminal impersonation and trespass to law enforcement agencies.

TO THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC):

We call on you to:

1. Uphold the Electoral Act and your own guidelines – do not recognise any candidate from the illegal parallel primaries.

2. Immediately release the access code to Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde, the recognised State Chairman on your portal.

3. Note that your refusal to release the code is creating an unnecessary crisis and may expose you to litigation.

We are prepared to go to court.

CONCLUSION

The Labour Party belongs to its members, not to any individual. The will of the Ogun State party members, as expressed in the April 25, 2026 State Congress, must be respected.

Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde is the valid State Chairman.

I, Hon. Kika Glasgow, am the valid State Publicity Secretary – currently and lawfully a member of the Labour Party.

The Onabiyi parallel structure is a nullity and should be disregarded by all.

We call on all party members, the media, and the general public to see through the desperate smokescreen of our opponents. The rule of law and internal democracy must prevail.

Signed:

Hon. Kika Glasgow

State Publicity Secretary,

Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led Ogun State Executive Committee,

Labour Party

Date: July 17, 2026

Cc:

1. The National Chairman, Labour Party

2. The National Secretary, Labour Party

3. The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

4. The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ogun State

5. The Nigeria Police Force

6. The Department of State Services (DSS)

7. All Media Houses

PRESS STATEMENT BY THE OGUN STATE PUBLICITY: RE: URGENT CALL FOR RESPECT FOR THE LABOUR PARTY CONSTITUTION, THE ELECTORAL ACT, AND SUBSISTING COURT ORDERS – OGUN STATE LABOUR PARTY CRISIS

Date: July 15, 2026

INTRODUCTION

The attention of the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led Ogun State Executive Committee of the Labour Party has been drawn to the ongoing attempts by certain elements within the National Leadership of our great Party to subvert the will of Ogun State party members, undermine the Labour Party Constitution, and violate established electoral laws.

We write to set the records straight and to put the National Leadership of the Labour Party, particularly the National Deputy Chairman (South), Mrs. Oriola Nike Job, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on notice regarding the unfolding crisis in Ogun State.

FACTS OF THE MATTER

Apagun 

1. The Ogun State Labour Party conducted its duly constituted State Congress, wherein Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde emerged as the authentic State Chairman of the Party in Ogun State.

2. The National Deputy Chairman (South), Mrs. Oriola Nike Job, for reasons best known to her, did not favour the emergence of Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde as State Chairman.

3. Acting in what appears to be a flagrant abuse of office and in total disregard for the Party’s constitution, Mrs. Oriola Nike Job colluded with some elements at the National Secretariat to conjure an entirely different list of persons who never participated in the legitimate Ogun State Congress. This parallel list was presented as the Ogun State Executive Committee of the Labour Party, with one Alhaji Ibrahim Onabiyi paraded as State Chairman.

4. Mrs. Oriola Nike Job, acting under a transmitted memo from the national to INEC went further to organise a parallel State Primary Election, bypassing the state structure, conducted simultaneously with the legitimate primaries organized by the authentic State Chairman, Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde.

5. As we speak, the recognised State Chairman on the INEC portal remains Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde — a clear indication that INEC is aware of the illegitimacy of the parallel structure imposed by Mrs. Oriola Nike Job.

Nike Oriola

6. INEC has thus far refused to upload the names of the so-called candidates of the parallel faction. This is likely due to the Commission's awareness of the legal and constitutional infirmities surrounding that exercise, and the imminent threat of litigation.

7. However, INEC has also refused to release the access code to the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led State Executive Committee to enable us to upload the names of our candidates who validly emerged from the legitimate State Primaries conducted by the authentic State Chairman.

THE LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION

1. The Labour Party Constitution is Supreme:

The Labour Party Constitution vests the authority to organise and conduct State Congresses and Primaries in the duly elected State Executive Committees. No National Officer, including the National Deputy Chairman (South), has the constitutional power to bypass the legitimate State Executive Committee and impose a parallel structure. Any action to the contrary is unconstitutional, null, and void.

2. Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended):

Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution mandates that political parties shall conduct periodic elections for their principal officers and members of executive committees on a democratic basis at intervals not exceeding four years. The imposition of a parallel State Executive Committee by Mrs. Oriola Nike Job, without any democratic process, is a gross violation of this constitutional provision.

3. The Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) and INEC Guidelines:

INEC is empowered by law to ensure that political parties observe the practices of internal democracy, including the fair and transparent conduct of party congresses and primaries. The Commission is also mandated to monitor party primaries and ensure compliance with the Electoral Act and its own guidelines. INEC cannot, and must not, recognise or give effect to any primary election that was not conducted in line with the Party's constitution and the Electoral Act.

4. Judicial Precedents on Disobedience to Court Orders and Unconstitutional Party Actions:

The judiciary has consistently held that political parties must strictly comply with constitutional provisions, electoral regulations, and valid court orders in conducting their internal affairs. The Supreme Court and Court of Appeal have repeatedly nullified party congresses and conventions conducted in violation of subsisting court orders and party constitutions.

In the recent case of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Court of Appeal, in a split 2-1 majority decision, affirmed that state congresses conducted by a caretaker committee in violation of a subsisting court order were invalid. The Court held that the responsibility for organising state congresses rests with duly elected State Executive Committees, not with the national leadership. The Court further barred INEC from recognising the outcome of such congresses.

Similarly, in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ibadan Convention case, the Supreme Court nullified the entire National Convention because it was conducted in violation of a subsisting court order. The apex court held that proceeding with a convention despite valid restraining orders amounted to making “a mockery of the majesty of the judiciary” and an affront to the authority of the courts.

These judicial pronouncements are clear and binding. Any party official who flouts the Party's constitution or valid court orders does so at their own peril.

OUR DEMANDS AND WARNING

TO THE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP OF THE LABOUR PARTY AND MRS. ORIOLA NIKE JOB:

We demand that the National Leadership of the Labour Party immediately:

1. Cease and desist from all attempts to impose a parallel State Executive Committee or parallel candidates on Ogun State.

2. Publicly recognise Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde as the duly elected and authentic State Chairman of the Labour Party in Ogun State.

3. Dissociate the Party from the illegal parallel primary conducted by Mrs. Oriola Nike Job and her cohorts.

4. Direct all Party officials, including Mrs. Oriola Nike Job, to respect the Labour Party Constitution and the will of Ogun State party members.

We put the National Leadership and Mrs. Oriola Nike Job on NOTICE that any further attempt to undermine the legitimate State Executive Committee and impose candidates not democratically elected will be met with immediate legal action. We will not hesitate to approach the courts to seek redress, including but not limited to:

· An order of court declaring the parallel State Executive Committee and the parallel primaries null and void.

· An order of perpetual injunction restraining the National Leadership and Mrs. Oriola Nike Job from interfering with the affairs of the Ogun State Labour Party.

· An order directing INEC to recognise only the candidates validly emerged from the primaries conducted by the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led State Executive Committee.

· Claims for damages against all those involved in this illegality.

TO THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC):

We call on INEC to:

1. Uphold the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) and its own Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.

2. Refrain from recognising or giving any effect to the parallel primaries and parallel candidates imposed by Mrs. Oriola Nike Job and her co-travellers.

3. Immediately release the access code to the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led State Executive Committee to enable us to upload the names of our candidates who validly emerged from the legitimate State Primaries conducted by the authentic State Chairman.

4. Note that INEC's current position of refusing to release the access code to the legitimate State Chairman while also refusing to recognise the parallel faction is untenable and creates an unnecessary crisis.

We put INEC on NOTICE that we are prepared to approach the courts to compel the Commission to perform its statutory duties in accordance with the law. We will seek:

· An order of mandamus compelling INEC to release the access code to the authentic State Chairman of the Labour Party in Ogun State.

· An order restraining INEC from recognising or dealing with any candidate not validly emerged from the primaries conducted by the Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led State Executive Committee.

CONCLUSION

Kika

The Labour Party is a party built on the principles of internal democracy, rule of law, and respect for constitutionalism. We will not allow any individual, no matter how highly placed, to subvert these principles for selfish interests.

We call on all well-meaning members of the Labour Party in Ogun State and across Nigeria to remain calm and law-abiding. We assure you that we are committed to protecting the integrity of our Party and the will of our members.

The Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led State Executive Committee remains the only legitimate leadership of the Labour Party in Ogun State. We will not be intimidated, and we will not surrender our mandate to any cabal of usurpers.

The rule of law must prevail. Internal democracy must be respected. The will of Ogun State party members must not be subverted.

Signed:

Hon.Kika Glasgow 

State Publicity Secretary,

Apagun Olaolu Samuel Babatunde-led Ogun State Executive Committee,

Labour Party

Date: July 15, 2026

Cc:

1. The National Chairman, Labour Party

2. The National Secretary, Labour Party

3. The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

4. The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ogun State

5. The Nigeria Police Force

6. The Department of State Services (DSS)

7. All Media Houses

OGUN LABOUR PARTY SUSPENDS STATE SECRETARY, FOUR OTHERS INDEFINITELY OVER ALLEGED ANTI-PARTY CONDUCT

Party Cites Criminal Conspiracy, Attempted Usurpation Of State Structure

By Tolulope Ayandare

ABEOKUTA — The Ogun State chapter of the Labour Party has announced the indefinite suspension of its State Secretary and four other executive members over allegations of anti-party activities, criminal conspiracy, and attempted usurpation of the party structure.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the State Executive Committee held in Abeokuta on July 10, according to a communique issued and signed by the State Chairman, Apagun Olaolu Samuel and the new acting State Secretary Engr. Ibiade Abass

In the statement made available to newsmen on 15th of July, 2026, the party accused the suspended officials of engaging in conduct inimical to the unity, discipline, and electoral objectives of the Labour Party in the state.

The affected members, Dr. Tosin Ogunbamiro (Secretary), Comr. Olanrewaju Babatunde Folarin (Deputy Chairman) Princess Adebisi Adebayo (Deputy Woman Leader) Pastor Olusola Kolawole (Deputy Chairman) and Mr. Adebayo Adeleke (Auditor),  were specifically cited for three principal offences: anti-party activities, criminal conspiracy, and attempts to unlawfully take over the organs and decision-making processes of the party at the state level while the former scribe added impersonation to his offences.

"The State Executive Committee, after careful deliberation on petitions and evidence presented before it, resolved to place the State Secretary and four other members on indefinite suspension with immediate effect," the communique stated.

The party further directed that the suspended officials desist forthwith from parading themselves as representatives or officers of the Labour Party in Ogun State pending the conclusion of investigations by a disciplinary committee to be constituted by the state leadership.

It added that the party remains committed to upholding due process, internal democracy, and the rule of law, stressing that no member, irrespective of position, is above the constitution of the party.

The leadership also called on party members, stakeholders, and members of the public to disregard any statement, directive, or action emanating from the suspended persons in the name of the Ogun State Labour Party.

The development is the latest in a series of internal disputes within the Ogun chapter of the Labour Party relating to party leadership, attempted bypass of constitutionally recognized state Working Committee in the process of candidates primary election, through the national leadership.

As at press time, efforts to obtain reactions from the suspended State Secretary, Dr. Tosin Ogunbamiro impersonated Ogunbanwo on the forged list of parallel excos and the other affected officers proved abortive.

The Labour Party currently is reorganizing ahead of the 2027 general elections" as many believed the party is in the safe hands of Apagun and other duly elected officers through state Congress.

It should be on records to that those in the national working committee of the Labour Party are not saints as regards the crisis rocking the majority of different state chapters of the party in the country. They are the architects of all the problems .Many observers considered the position of the national working committee to jetitioned and rejected those Congress Elected officers of the party at the state levels as a deliberate attempt by the Senator Nenadi Esther Usman led NWC to wreck the party of any remaining glory.

The fielding  of an administrative Secretary as it's presidential candidate is confirmation of Tinubu's pacts with Nenadi and Alex Otto leadership. 

The NLC/TUC and other concerned stakeholders will still need another rescue marathon race to reposition the party after the 2027 general elections.

THE CONSPIRACY, THE INTRICACY AND THE DIPLOMACY OF THE ENRAGED POLITICAL JOBBERS AGAINST APAGUN OLAOLU SAMUEL

Apagun 

Politics in Nigeria has always been a theater of alliances, betrayals, intrigues, suspense and calculated moves. The current pushback against Apagun Olaolu Samuel fits that pattern, but with a sharper edge. What is playing out is less about ideology and more about control, access, and who gets to sit at the table.

Late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, the assumed creator of Fuji music once sang in one of his records portraying a cart pusher after running through a bend claiming to have sped 140km per hour, conclusively singing if a cart pusher can speed at that rate, what speed would driver of Rolls-Royce or Mercedes-Benz acclaimed. Subsequently, he noted that if the deceived do not know, the deceiver will definitely know he is deceiving the ignorants.

The Ogun State Labour Party conspiracy theory had long been penned immediately after the fallout of the alliance windfall in 2023, some beneficiaries after the unexpected financial benefits, attracted from the need to get more, formed a caucus around Mr. Kehinde Sogunle, the gubernatorial aspirant who sold out to PDP, to defend him at all cost, for them to be recognized and probably be recommended by him for appointments if peradventure Chief Ladi Adebutu, the candidate of PDP win the pending governorship case, since he was the sole negotiator with Ladi Adebutu and the already penned down Chief of Staff to be. Knowing that position is of high influence, some political jobbers swirled around him for patronage while some of us were bent on rebuilding Labour Party for better performance come this 2027 which ultimately set wedge in-between us.

*1. The Conspiracy: What the Jobbers Are Allegedly Doing*

"Political jobbers" in this context refers to operatives whose influence depends on patronage, contracts, and appointments rather than an elected mandate. 

The narrative circulating is that a loose coalition of these jobbers became "enraged" after Apagun Olaolu Samuel and his team of men and women who believed in political renaissance began to disrupt their established channels of influence. The alleged moves include:

- *Media narratives*: Coordinated press releases and social media smear campaigns aimed at framing Samuel as an unrepentant dissident who does not "understand how things are done."

- *Gatekeeping*: Blocking access to party structures, transactional politics, and funding lines that traditionally flow through jobber networks.

- *Delegitimization*: Questioning his loyalty, legality,  pedigree, and motives within party caucuses and stakeholder meetings.

The goal, according to sources close to the situation, is not outright removal but political containment. Make him a second class Chairman in order to silence him perpetually while he is being understudy by their men.

*2. The Intricacies: Why This Fight Is Not Straightforward*

This is not just Apagun vs. "the system." The intricacies make it messy:

- *Factions within factions*: Not all jobbers are aligned. Some see Samuel as a threat. Others see him as a potential new patron that is trying to cut a nitch for himself. That split creates double games and leaks.

- *Grassroots vs. Establishment*: Samuel appears to draw support from a base that is tired of recycled names. The jobbers rely on power brokers watching and walking the corridors of power in Abuja while Apagun rely solely on the structures and legitimate Congress as witness by INEC and security agencies. That clash of legitimacy vs. machinery is where most of the tension lives.

- *Timing*: In Nigerian politics, these battles intensify ahead of appointments, primaries, or Congress cycles. The timing of the pushback suggests someone feels their access is about to shrink.

- *Narrative warfare*: Both sides are fighting for the story. One side sells "reform and discipline." The other sells "experience and stability." Voters and party elders are the real audience.

*3. The Diplomacy: How It Is Being Managed*

Open war is bad for business. So the response has been diplomatic, even while the knives are out.

- *Elders and Intermediaries*: Senior party leaders are reportedly stepping in to broker truces. The language is always "unity" and "party supremacy," but the subtext is power sharing.

- *Backchannel talks*: Meetings in Abuja, Abeokuta, and Ijebu-ode are being used to test offers while financial influence are the usual bargaining chips.

- *Public restraint*: Despite the heat online, official statements from Samuel's camp have stayed measured. That is strategic. It keeps him looking like the calm one, while forcing the jobbers to overreach.

- *Coalition building*: Diplomacy here also means finding new allies.  Youth groups, professional bodies, and even rival jobbers are being courted to widen Samuel's base beyond the current fight.

*4. What This Means Going Forward*

Three scenarios are likely:

1. *Accommodation*: The jobbers without negotiation placed Samuel in their official list for acceptability, but with limits on his influence. This is the most common Nigerian political ending.

2. *Escalation*: If no deal is reached, expect more leaks, petitions, and primary challenges designed to exhaust him. But his consistency and resilience will see him through as the legitimate Chairman of the Labour Party Ogun State or otherwise another round of legal battles will rock the boat of the party which is not in the best interest of anyone.

3. *Breakthrough*: If Samuel sustains grassroots support and attracts independent funding, he could bypass the jobber structure entirely.

The real test will be endurance. Conspiracies burn out. Intricacies get exposed. Diplomacy only works if both sides see more to gain from peace than from war.

*Bottom line*: This is not just about one man. It is about how power is distributed when an outsider refuses to play by old rules. The enraged jobbers are defending a system. Apagun Olaolu Samuel is testing whether that system can still say no.

© Apagun Olaolu Samuel 

Chairman,

Labour Party, Ogun State

The Rapture, the Capture and the Rupture of Today's Labour Party

Apagun 

On the beautiful morning of January 19th 2026, every member of the Labour Party was expecting a judgement that will make or mar the political party that has been entrenched in a long legal battle of ownership, but was greatly disappointed that the judgement had been adjourned. The atmosphere was tensed as everyone can sense prevailing danger, sniffing a tilt from the cliff of the mountain, whosoever side that received the shocks will definitely lose the locks to the national Secretariat. It was adjourned to 21st of January, as some believed it was not too bad but to some like me, I was jittery.

Then came the moment, I couldn't muster the courage to monitor it live, but moments after the historical judgement, news filtered out, it was a moment of intense pleasure, joy, or overwhelming ecstasy. A moment the supporters of the Nnenadi Usman's faction was raptured!

*The Rapture: When mandate vanishes into thin air*  

While we were enraptured and jubilant, some disappointed and dissatisfied political apologists quickly reconvened together watching closely as the events unfolded, switching allegiance and repositioning themselves at the highest level, mediating and negotiating positions down to the grassroots at the expense of those who sought, aligned, fought and were greatly persecuted for standing up for this today's leadership of Labour Party yesterday. I can vividly remember November 17th 2024, when we broke out of the Abure faction to declare our support for the Caretaker Committee and inaugurate the Interim Executive Committee (IEC) of the Ogun State Labour Party, under heavy security at the expense of our blood, televised and broadcasted through Arise TV, Channels TV, published by Tribune, Punch, Vanguard and several bloggers.

Hence, our invitation to the Labour House during a retreat organized by the NTC, the Labour Movement and the Caretaker Committee when the horizon was opaque and the hope was slim. We gave Obiora Ifoh, some hard nuts to crack as he was forced to be making several counter press conferences and releases against us in order to quel the political inferno that would have consumed Abure if not checkmated, while Com. Tokunbo Peters, my dear brother, the erstwhile Publicity Secretary in Ogun State was given a sleepless nights as he engaged us day after day while we continued to wax stronger. We became a nightmare to Mr.Kehinde Sogunle and Com.Lookman Abiodun Jagun who was the State Chairman.

Now, think of the state Congress as an altar after surviving threats, persecution, unlawful arrests, defamation of characters, contempts as the Patriots are being sidelines while the traitors were being rewarded as we were being misrepresented, misconceived by reason of the calculated propaganda. During the Congresses, Delegates voted, winners are called, hands are raised. That moment should be a rapture: a lifting of the people's choice into public record. Instead, the national leadership performed a surgical mutilation. Results were edited mid-air. Names of actual winners were replaced by those who did not even participate before the communique cooled. While the report by the INEC clearly shows Apagun Olaolu Samuel emerged winner as the Chairman and published by the INEC through their notice board, the falsified memo to the INEC by the national leadership of the party states otherwise, causing confusion and frictions within the state structures.

It’s like a referee blowing the final whistle, the stadium erupts, then someone in the VIP box rewinds the tape and declares a different team scored. The crowd still heard the cheer, but the scoreboard was rewritten. That’s not correction. That’s erasure. If internal democratic processes are not allowed to thrive and prevail in democratic institutions, definitely like Fela said, "Democracy can then be best defined as demonstration of crazy people".

*The Capture: Institutional hijack in slow motion* 

 

Undemocratic handling of Congress disputes is not chaos. It’s capture. When the party’s national organs treat every case emanating from the state as a threat to be managed, not a voice to be heard, in an institutional party that believes in Equal Opportunities and Social Justice, the institution stops being a platform and becomes a vault. Only those with the combination get to decide who walks in.  

 A bank built with depositors’ money, but only the manager’s cousins can make withdrawals. The structure stands, the sign remains, but the purpose has been kidnapped. The Labour Party was built as an alternative to godfather politics, and as it appears to be now, it's been captured, though not been kept under lock and keys but soonest might be turned into what it once fought.

The Rupture: What breaks when trust is replaced

Mutilating Congress results and swapping winners does three things at once:  

1. Ruptures legitimacy: If members can’t trust the process, they can’t defend the product.  

2. Ruptures morale: Volunteers who campaigned, mobilized, and voted learn that fidelity has no reward.  

3. Ruptures identity: A party called “Labour” loses its moral wage. Workers respect rules. When rules are bent, the name becomes irony.  

Just like a rope bridge. Each Congress is a plank. Replace the plank with paper board, and the bridge still looks crossable from a distance. The rupture happens only when weight is applied. Elections are weight. Democracy inside a party is not decoration. It’s diagnostics. When internal elections are mutilated, the party loses the ability to detect its own weakness. You can’t strategize if you don’t know who actually won. You can’t mobilize if members believe the game is fixed. And you can’t claim to fight external impunity while practicing internal impunity.

The Labour Party’s current crisis isn’t just about names on a list. It’s about whether the party will be a movement or a monument. Movements correct themselves. Monuments are corrected by history.

Rapture lifts. Capture holds. Rupture breaks. Today’s Labour Party is suspended between all three. What happens next depends on whether leadership restores the mandate or keeps rewriting it.

©Apagun Olaolu Samuel

Chairman, 

Ogun State Labour Party

The GRAVITY, the CAVITY, and the CAPTIVITY OF THE NIGERIAN POLITICAL SPACE

As the Nigerian political space is being unnecessarily and increasingly overheated, political timetable compressed by INEC, electoral guidelines being changed abruptly amidst the game, and fulfillment of all electoral activities being swiftly runned by political parties in the wrong directions as petitions, rejoinders, counter petitions and court papers are flying here and there bore testimony to lack of adequate preparation and information dissemination from the electoral body and political parties. Several factions are shooting out dailies from political parties as the incumbent are not left out as they tarried long enough in some states awaiting the ruling party in such a state to cave in to the official party of the incumbent government.

Nigerian politics no longer lives only in Abuja conference rooms. It lives on X, in Nollywood skits, in Afrobeats lyrics, in WhatsApp broadcast lists. It pulls like a magnet, echoes like an empty hall, and traps like a cage. Gravity, cavity, captivity. Three forces shaping every election, protest, and debate. From 2023 till now, Nigerian politics moved from handshake deals at the grassroots and communities to hashtag wars, the space became a stadium, gravity pulls everyone in through social media, cavity left us shouting in the void, captivity kept the doors locked and the last four years has proven that.

*The Gravity: Why does everyone get pulled in*  

Gravity is mass and pull/attention, Nigerian politics has both now in record amount, though it is likely to decline as some of first timers weakling politicians and social media influencers are no longer operating at the level they did in 2023, political godfather's and electoral management officers taught them lessons they will not forget so soon.

1. Culture and Ethnicity is the campaign*: Prevalent ethnicity turn by turn and the new cultural trend of Influencers forming public opinion is generating more of the gravitational force than reasonable blueprint of redemption for Nigeria. From Fela’s yabis to Burna’s "Monsters You Made", music does what manifestos can’t. A single tweet from Wizkid or Davido shifts more votes than a party rally in some states. "Soro Soke" from 2020 EndSARS became the campaign language in 2023. Peter Obi’s movement was powered less by party structure and more by Afrobeats fans, skit makers, Twitter spaces. Davido, Falz, Aisha Yesufu became de facto campaign managers. For the first time, a candidate’s Spotify playlist mattered as much as his party manifesto.  

2. Youth are the mass: 70% of Nigerians are under 35.. That’s not just a demographic. It’s a gravitational field. "Obidients", "Soro Soke", "No gree for anybody" Apagunmanians, in the Ogun State Labour Party fast spreading across the southwest— these weren’t party slogans. They were cultural movements that dragged politics into everyday talk. They were not bought, or sought, they were pulled by the force of gravity, they organically sprouted as a movement beyond party boundaries to fill in the political cavity..

INEC said over 37m voters collected PVCs before 2023, and most were 18-34. That’s gravity. TikTok explainers on BVAS got more views than NTA debates. In 2027, that mass is older, more cynical, and already organizing on WhatsApp communities and X Spaces before parties even pick candidates.  

3. Outrage is the orbit: Bad news travels faster than policy. One viral video of police brutality or failed infrastructure pulls more attention than a 50-page budget. Once you’re in orbit, silence feels like betrayal. My daughter engaged me on social media visibility and wishes someone will drag her, particularly someone whose followers runs to millions, which will advertently rubbed on her media visibility, but having a media visibility without a matching ground structure sometimes make a political party fizzle out in the shortest period of time. Imagine the "Ikeja City Mall protest", "Obidients" Twitter trends, even APC's "Emilokan clips" ---these pulled more national conversation than traditional rallies. If it didn't trend, it didn't exist. Contents creators and campaign strategists are already being engaged rather than the ward coordinators for 2027 elections .

The Cavity: The empty space inside the noise*  

Cavity is the hollow part between sound and substance, the 2023's noise and the 2027's risk.

2023 has already exposed the influence of the social media in shaping public opinion, but that of 2027 will surely deepen it. For all the noise, the center is often empty.  

1. Sound over substance: We debate vibes, not data. "He’s young" vs "He’s experienced" replaces "Here’s his plan for power". Hashtags trend for 48 hours, then vanish. We spent months arguing BVAS, IReV, "upload issues". Huge noise, but little post-election deep-dive on electoral reform from citizens. The trend died after the Supreme Court judgment. Sound came, substance left.  

2. Performance over policy: Politicians now campaign like influencers. Photo ops with less town halls meeting and engagement with electorates at the grassroots. Dance videos greater debt profiles. The stage is full, but the script is thin. Slogans beat policies: "Renewed Hope", "Take Back Nigeria", "Emilokan". Catchy, yes. But ask 10 voters to explain the actual policy difference on power or FX and the room goes quiet. 2027 is already shaping up with early slogans before white papers.  

3. Amnesia over accountability: Each scandal resets the conversation. We remember the outrage, forget the follow-up. The space echoes, but nothing solid stays inside.Lekki tollgate, cash scarcity protests, subsidy removal pain. Each dominated feeds for days, then vanished when the next viral video dropped. No sustained pressure, no scorecards. The hall echoes, but nothing sticks to the walls

 

The Captivity: How the game keeps us locked?

Captivity is the cage both leaders and citizens built.  

1. Party structures: Godfather politics, delegate buying, zoning formulas. New voices enter, but the rules don’t change, hopes are raised when new leaders are being ushered in, but before you blink your eyes twice, you realize that a well known devil is better than an imaginary angel. You can shout, but you still play by their playbook. Even shouting is an offense, and if you fail to shout, how will you be heard?. In order for them to secure their offices, they replaced a lawful and legally backed state Congresses up to twenty one state in the case of my political party with a stroke of pen in a lofty office in Abuja against the will of the people who lined up under a scorching sun to vote whom the knew, want and believed in 

2. Clout incentives: For citizens, speaking up brings likes but also risk. Cancel culture, EFCC threats, "they will come for you". So we perform activism instead of organizing it.  

3. Fear as bars: Fear of the past. Fear of "the other tribe". Fear of wasting your vote. That fear keeps voters choosing "lesser evil" instead of "better idea". Everyone knows the cage exists. Few test the lock.

Can we break the pattern?

Gravity won’t disappear. Culture will always pull people into politics, and that’s good. But a space can’t survive on gravity alone. The cavity needs filling: with policy literacy, with local organizing, with attention spans longer than a trend. The captivity needs testing: by new candidates, by issue-based voting, by citizens who move from tweets to wards.

Nigerian politics is loud, magnetic, and stuck. The question isn’t whether we feel the pull. It’s whether we’ll fill the hollow, and find the key. 2023 gave us the loudest political pop space Nigeria has ever seen, 2027 will decide if we use that noise to build something solid, or just turn the volume up again. 

*Apagun Olaolu Samuel*

Chairman 

Labour Party, Ogun State

STOP THE CIRCULATION OF THE MANIPULATED SUCCESSFUL CONGRESS LIST: AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP OF LABOUR PARTY OGUN STATE CONGRESS CRIES OUT

Apagun Olaolu Samuel 

ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA -- The Labour Party, Ogun State Secretariat, wishes to set the record straight regarding the successful Congress held at the Ogun State Labour Party Secretariat on April 25th, 2026.

It has come to our attention that an unauthorized and substituted list containing erroneous names is currently being circulated to the public and media. This act is false, misleading, and intended to cause confusion within the party and among stakeholders.

For clarity and official record, the authentic and duly elected officers of the Congress are:

Chairman: Apagun Olaolu Samuel

Secretary: Tosin Ogunbamiro

Any other names being paraded as Chairman and Secretary of the April 25th Congress are fake, null, and void. They do not represent the will of the delegates nor the outcome of the congress.

We view this deliberate act of substitution as a criminal case of *conspiracy, forgery, and perjury*. The perpetrators of this dastardly act will be made to face the full weight of the law. Legal action will commence and the matter is already before the legal team.

The Labour Party remains committed to due process, transparency, and the rule of law. We urge party members, the media, and the general public to disregard the list as it was doctored to satisfy the convenience of few against the results of the Congress as monitored and observed by the INEC, Police and the DSS.

Signed,  

Apagun Olaolu Samuel 

*Ogun State Labour Party Secretariat*