A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Fouad Alade Oki, has raised the alarm over what he described as a dangerously low voter turnout during the July 12, 2025, Lagos State Local Government elections\u2014warning that the trend, if ignored, could spell doom for the party\u2019s 2027 electoral prospects.<\/p>\n
In a damning preliminary report addressed to the leadership of the Lagos APC, Oki described the turnout as \u201ccatastrophic,\u201d revealing that internal party assessments show that less than 6% of the over 6.8 million registered voters with Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) took part in the polls. <\/span><\/p>\n This figure, he noted, marks a steep drop from the 11% turnout recorded in 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n While the APC emerged victorious\u2014clinching all 20 chairmanship seats and 375 of 376 councillorship positions\u2014Oki said the party\u2019s win was \u201ca hollow victory,\u201d lacking a legitimate democratic mandate. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe people didn\u2019t vote against us\u2014they simply didn\u2019t vote at all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is a silent vote of no confidence not just in the APC but in the political establishment as a whole,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Neglected Demographics and Party Disconnect<\/span><\/p>\n Oki pointed to the party\u2019s declining influence among key voter blocs\u2014particularly the Arewa and Igbo communities, as well as disillusioned youths and the urban poor. <\/span><\/p>\n He said the APC has failed to build meaningful post-Buhari relationships with the Arewa community, which has historically shown strong loyalty. <\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Igbo community remains wary of the APC, citing a legacy of mistrust and exclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe APC in Lagos has become disconnected from its support base. Ward and LGA structures are broken, youths are shut out, and loyal grassroots members feel abandoned,\u201d Oki stated.<\/span><\/p>\n A Crisis Brewing for 2027<\/span><\/p>\n Oki warned that unless urgent reforms are made, the APC risks facing major losses in the 2027 general elections\u2014including the possible collapse of its longstanding dominance in Lagos State. <\/span><\/p>\n He outlined several looming threats, including a weakened voter base, loss of moral legitimacy, increased factionalism, and vulnerability to opposition forces.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe July 12 elections are a red flag. If we ignore it, we do so at our peril,\u201d Oki warned.<\/span><\/p>\n Rejects Voter Registration Drive, Demands Party Audit<\/span><\/p>\n Oki criticized the APC\u2019s planned voter registration campaign in August, describing it as ill-timed and out of touch. \u201cYou don\u2019t pour water into a leaking bucket,\u201d he said, urging the party to first understand why millions of registered voters failed to show up at the polls.<\/span><\/p>\n He recommended that the APC convene an urgent internal election review conference\u2014made up of party insiders with electoral experience\u2014to conduct a no-holds-barred audit of the 2025 LG polls. <\/span><\/p>\n He said only after rebuilding trust, restoring internal democracy, and repairing its grassroots network should the party begin any fresh registration push.<\/span><\/p>\n Roadmap for Recovery<\/span><\/p>\n Oki\u2019s report called for:<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Empowering youth with real leadership roles<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Inclusion of the Arewa and Igbo communities in decision-making<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Transparent internal party primaries and credible internal democracy<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Training and performance-based accountability for grassroots party executives<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe time for self-congratulations is over,\u201d he warned. \u201cThe APC must act now with courage and honesty if it hopes to survive the political reckoning ahead.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The report has stirred serious debate within the party\u2019s ranks, with growing support among grassroots members calling for introspection and immediate restructuring before the 2027 elections.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Fouad Alade Oki, has raised the alarm over what he described as a dangerously low voter turnout during the July 12, 2025, Lagos State Local Government elections\u2014warning that the trend, if ignored, could spell doom for the party\u2019s 2027 electoral prospects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9482,111,10968,845,9657],"class_list":["post-24692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-9482","tag-apc","tag-electoral-prospects","tag-fouad-oki","tag-lagos-lg-polls"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24692"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24692"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24697,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24692\/revisions\/24697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}