A fresh crisis has erupted within the Lagos State chapter of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), with members of the State Executive Committee accusing the party’s State Chairman, Mr. King Okuneye, of manipulating the outcome of recent primary elections and sidelining party structures in key decision-making processes.
The allegations emerged on Tuesday during a press conference held in Ikeja following an emergency meeting of some members of the state executive committee.
Speaking on behalf of the group, the party’s Deputy Chairman, Mr. Akinwande Osikominu, alleged that the chairman had consistently operated the party without adequate transparency and had taken major decisions without consulting other executive members.
According to Osikominu, the situation reached a breaking point during the conduct of the party’s primaries, where members of the State Executive Committee were allegedly unaware of a parallel election committee said to have been constituted by the party’s national leadership.
“Most embarrassingly, the State Exco was kept completely in the dark about the establishment of any parallel election committee by the National Body. We only learned of its existence during collation,” he said.
He further alleged that election reports and results previously agreed upon by party stakeholders were altered without the knowledge or approval of the executive committee, describing the development as a breach of internal trust and party processes.
The deputy chairman also accused the state chairman of creating a leadership vacuum through prolonged absence from Lagos State, arguing that effective leadership requires active engagement with party structures and grassroots members.
Other concerns raised by the executive members included the alleged failure to publish an authentic list of local government executives, claims of financial opacity in the management of party funds, and the alleged abandonment of the party secretariat in favour of meetings held at alternative locations.
The executive members called on the party’s National Executive Committee to intervene and investigate the allegations, warning that unresolved internal disputes could affect the party’s readiness for future elections.
The controversy has also drawn reactions from party leaders at the local government level.
In Amuwo-Odofin, the NDC Chairman, Pastor Emmanuel Okibie, expressed concern over what he described as attempts to undermine the outcome of the party’s House of Representatives primary election in the constituency.
According to him, party members and stakeholders in Amuwo-Odofin had invested significant effort in building the party and conducting a credible selection process.
“It is painful that after all the effort we put into strengthening the party and identifying a candidate capable of winning the election, there are attempts to undermine the outcome of a process that was transparently conducted,” he said.
Okibie maintained that party members would resist any attempt to impose candidates who did not emerge through what he described as a credible grassroots-driven process.
His comments come at a time when political activities are intensifying across Amuwo-Odofin ahead of the 2027 elections, with parties concluding primaries and preparing for the next phase of political campaigns.
Other executive members present at the briefing included the party’s youth leader, welfare officers, treasurer, publicity secretary, women leader, local government chairmen, aspirants, and party members from across the state.
Efforts to obtain a response from Okuneye were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report, as calls and messages sent to him were not returned.
However, a party source close to the chairman dismissed the allegations, describing them as unfounded and politically motivated.
The source insisted that the state chairman had carried out his responsibilities effectively and suggested that dissatisfaction among some members stemmed from the outcome of the primaries rather than any wrongdoing by the party leadership.
The unfolding dispute has added a new dimension to political developments within the NDC in Lagos, with party members and observers closely watching how the national leadership responds to the growing calls for intervention.