Kehinde Fajobi
Tension flared at the Alimosho Local Government Area secretariat as the suspended Chairman, Jelili Sulaimon, and Vice Chairman, Akinpelu Johnson, clashed over control of the office on Tuesday.
The conflict followed the Lagos State House of Assembly’s suspension of Sulaimon on Monday, citing alleged misconduct.
The Assembly instructed the council’s Manager and Treasurer to recognize Johnson and provide him the necessary support to function effectively. However, Sulaimon defied the suspension order and showed up at the council office, where a crowd welcomed him in solidarity.
In a video circulating online, both Sulaimon and Johnson attempted to access the chairman’s office, which was locked, forcing them to leave the premises shortly after.
Meanwhile, four out of seven councillors have publicly denounced the alleged suspension of Vice Chairman Johnson by three of their colleagues.
In a joint statement, the councillors—Mojisola Ayeni (Ward D), Saheed Adejoke (Ward C), Rasheed Semiu (Ward E), and Elizabeth Fashina (Ward F)—described Johnson’s suspension as “illegal” and accused the minority councillors of acting on the instructions of the suspended Chairman, Sulaimon.
The statement read, “We, the undersigned legislators from Alimosho Local Government, officially dissociate ourselves from the staged and illegal suspension of Mr. Akinpelu Johnson, the Vice Chairman of Alimosho Local Government. We condemn the purported suspension of the Vice Chairman by minority legislators, who acted on instructions of the validly suspended Chairman.”
The councillors reaffirmed their support for Johnson, saying, “We would like to emphasise that at no time was the Vice Chairman suspended, hence our readiness to support him going forward with the administration of the Local Government.”