The Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Oluwo Olawale Wasiu, has resigned as commissioner and member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Wasiu, who hails from Epe, submitted his resignation as commissioner to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday in his office at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, the state capital.
The letter said his reasons for resigning include the conduct of the October primary of the party, which he said had some defects.
Describing the primary as integrity-deficient, Wasiu said it diminished the hard-earned reputation of the state as a reference point for free and fair democratic practice.
โIn the particular case of the governorship primary, which was conducted using the โopen ballotโ option in violation of the guidelines of the APC, which specify the โopen secret ballotโ option, it is clear to me that the core principles of merit, competence, justice and fairness have been sacrificed by the APC in the altar of political expediency.
โI have struggled for weeks to understand the rationale for the apparent desperation and brigandage brazenly displayed by the party apparatchiks in the various elections.โ
The former commissioner regretted that โsuch vicious attacks could be unleashed on the progress that the state has made in its steady democratic journeyโ.
He also accused the party of being indifferent to the activities of a powerful group within it, saying such group used an arm of government to intimidate critical institutions of democracy and allegedly undermined the doctrine of separation of powers.
Wasiu said the group was allegedly โcreating an atmosphere of uncertainty and impairing governmentโs ability to implement policies and programmes that will benefit the majority of the peopleโ.
This, he said, was in contrast with his โstrongly held belief that group interest, no matter how powerful, must be subordinated to the interest of the majorityโ, adding that โthe present atmosphere of encirclement will not abate anytime soonโ.
Although it is yet to be confirmed, sources close to Wasiu said he is on his way to team up the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje who is said to a close friend of the former commissioner.
