Olalekan Abdulmojeed Anjolaiya (AEROSOFT), entrepreneur, and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is an aspirant for the House of Representatives, Alimosho Federal Constituency, Lagos. In this exclusive interview with INIOBONG IWOK, he spoke on the implications of the recent Supreme Court judgment on the party’s leadership crisis, the growing momentum of the ADC as a coalition platform for opposition forces ahead of the 2027 election, and his legislative agenda for Alimosho. He also shared his views on internal party dynamics, grassroots mobilisation in Lagos, and gave a scathing assessment of the current administration’s policies and economic direction. Excerpts:
What is your reaction to the recent Supreme Court judgment on ADC?
The Supreme Court judgment is an icing on our cake. It’s a victory for not just the ADC but for Nigerians. It’s a sigh of relief that we would not be sliding into a one-party election in 2027. It’s a victory for all the opposition. You can see the congratulations and joy. It’s very obvious. We have hope that once again we can return to the polls to vote for the party of our choice without being gagged by the other parties. It’s a victory for all the opposition parties. Pre the judgment, you can see that opposition leaders have seen the need for all of them to come together and work together while they anticipate the judgment.
So, this judgment has shown that yes, we have a house now and we can all come under one roof. I mean all the major opposition figures can come under one roof.
Were you surprised by the judgement? How do you see the antics of the Nafiu Bala group?
The judgement was expected. Was I surprised by the judgment? No. No, because Nafiu had no case. But we had suspected that he was being sponsored by the ruling All Progressive Congress and there was an attempt to destroy the ADC just the same way Labour Party, PDP were destroyed. So, we had a case.
Nafiu Bala is a grandstander. You can see the other day he said he was going to have a national convention. Not one person was present there. So, you can see that he is not armed enough to disrupt the ADC. We have our facts. We have evidences that he was part of the NWC leadership that signed to relinquish to the new leadership. He was also present when all these things were happening. How he took it to the ADC to say he was not aware or his presence did not make a consent is baffling. But one thing is certain; we had our evidence. INEC monitored that transfer of leadership. They also approved David Mark. We were armed with a lot. You see, the process of the David Mark-led leadership taking over ADC was done in accordance with rule of law. I have no fears that we’re going to get the judgement that we deserve.
The party can now prepare for the general election; are the members ready?
Yes, absolutely. In the next couple of days, the party should communicate to Nigerians their timetable for primary election and the prices of the forms from presidential to Senate to governorship, House of Representatives and House of Assembly. So, we are expecting that communication will be out in another 48 hours so that we can have ample time. Primary election by INEC timetable started on the 22nd of April. And it’s supposed we must have submitted the list. With the situation now, we have a marathon in the next four weeks. Marathon of serious politicking just as you can see in the All Progressive Congress.
So, in the next 48 hours, maximum three to four days, we are going to hear from the publicity secretary as to how we will be going ahead with party primaries. One thing is sacrosanct, our leadership is no longer in contest. The leadership of David Mark is recognised and, of course, they will be the ones to append signatures. They will be the ones to correspond with INEC. We hope that INEC will also do the needful, just in compliance with the Supreme Court judgement.
You are leader of the ADC in Lagos; the leadership of the party has been trying to mobilise people from the grassroots in the state. How has it been in terms of reception and also people coming in from Labour Party?
It’s been very interesting because the ADC is largely accepted amongst Nigerians. We didn’t even have to do too much. The ADC was doing a lot of campaigning for us with the Mal-administration. For us in the ADC, we have been able to come together, to speak to ourselves; to say yes, we don’t have anywhere else we want to go. The leadership of the party came under the Lagos Unity Forum, LUF, to stabilise the policies of Lagos. To ensure that the policy of Lagos is not capitalised by greed or moneybag politics. We have been able to stabilise the Lagos ADC.
From the chairman and all executives of the party and the state to all local government chairmen, we have been very welcoming. They have opened up the doors of the party to people that want to register and join. We have embarked on massive registration, which we did very excellently.
Going into the primaries, the party is united. As you can see, we welcomed the new defector some 2-3 weeks ago; person such as Funsho Doherty among others. A lot of people are still tripping into the party. ADC represents the hope of Lagosians. ADC Lagos is hoping and looking to displace the APC in 2027.
In 2023, they nearly missed a defeat. Even though they were defeated, that election was not an election. It was marred by violence and voter suppression. They cannot repeat that strategy because we have caught up with them. I think that the ADC is a majority in Lagos right now. We are very hopeful. We are very hopeful. We are very hopeful that things are going to be done the right way.
You are aspiring to represent Alimosho in the Federal House of Representatives, what is the motive behind that ambition?
My name is Olamilekan Anjo-Olaiya, I’m from Lagos. I’m from Igando, from the Alaishoro compound of Igando, Alimosho.
I’m an Awori man. I’ve lived the majority of my life in Alimosho. I understand this constituency, its people and its peculiarity.
I have a first degree in political science and also hold masters in human resources and industrial relations. I have several diplomas in travel management. I’m a businessman an also an entrepreneur. I think that I would describe myself as an ideal representative of the people of Alimosho because I have a perfect understanding of this area and how it should work. First of all, I’ve said it over and over again, there’s a very important advocacy. I think that Alimosho was structurally cheated.
However, one of the most important advocacies talking about representation is that I think that Alimosho deserves to have two further constituencies just like Oshodi/Isolo, just like Surulere and others. Do you understand? We deserve to have at least two further constituencies. Alimosho, has a population of over 4 million people. Alimosho has 6 LCDAs, the population of Alimosho is almost larger than that of Ghana. So, Alimosho is a country on its own. So, having one representation reduces the dividends of democracy on our people.
To be very honest, I think that’s the place we should start from; research also shows that we have over 900,000 out of school children which is also an evidence that things are not going the way that we quite expected to go.
So, a whole lot more. I think that each of the 11 worlds, Alimosho should have its own primary health care centre. That’s not the case. When your population is growing, development must meet it. If they can take the pooling unit close to us, they can take every other government or state-owned facility close to the people for access. I also spoke about the mortality rate. It’s at its barest minimum. It’s worse. In general hospitals, there is no bed space. The entire Alimosho depends on just one general hospital. No bed space, no incubator, sometimes no oxygen. So, a lot of things need to be advocated for and I think that it begins with representation.
It begins with putting Alimosho first, not just in alphabetical order but in order of parity, of demand, of size and population. Alimosho deserves to be way above where we are currently placed. Even with critical infrastructure, the Federal Ministry of Work in Lagos should prioritise this local government.
Before you do one or two things in other parts of Lagos, you should have done 10 in Alimosho considering its size and population. Alimosho represents 3 over 4 of Lagos. So, I think that’s the way to go. These are the things that have inspired my inspiration. I think I understand this constituency. I think I synchronise very well with the people of this local government and I’m best to represent them.
You have APC to contend with. What preparations have you put in place?
I’ve been very impactful over the years in this local government. The consequence of not participating in politics is to be ruled by mediocres and that’s why we have said, let’s put our foot forward, let people queue behind us, let them give us their support. I’m a familiar face, not just by name or by family heritage but by some of my antecedents, even as a young person in this local government. I represent an ideal Alimosho young person. I am their ambassador and I think that the future that we see is a future where young people are organised, they are getting things done for the greater good of their society.
APC is no trick to be very honest with you. In 2003, they visibly lost the local government for the presidential election. That’s not by fluke. It’s something that can be done.
What is the immediate priority if elected, it’s a legislative seat, not an executive seat?
Yes, absolutely, if elected, I’ve told you about my advocacy for us to have a further constituency. It’s an issue of law, an amendment of the law. We’re also going to face health, education, youth employment, and empowerment. I think these are areas that are very critical. Empowerment will mean that Nigeria is a commercial-driven nation such as Alimosho. People are driven by commerce. An average person that completes air is ready to open a shop in the country and start doing an air dressing service. We are going to look at how we can train people so that they can use their skills to earn a very meaningful income. Across health, we are going to look at how we can facilitate the creation of more primary health care centres, taking them closer to the people so they can cater for very basic things like malaria, typhoid and of course maternity. Education, we are going to look at out of school children.
Those children that are loitering around during school, we are going to look at how we can come in contact with their parents and ensure that they are embodied into the schools and we are going to monitor their progress. We are going to have an accurate data of children that we have taken away from the street and they are now in school. We are going to have a developmental track from the start.
These are the things that we have done so that we can always show our scorecards that are very visible, that will be very evident for constituents to always check. Absolutely. We have two ways about it. We have consensus. I am 100% prepared for it. I am not new in the game. I came in fully in 2001-2002 in the PDP and I gave it my best shot. I have understood it and I think that I am a better politician right about now. I am very in contact with the grassroots which of course I have a very popular fan base in the local government.
In fact, in the indigenous community, I have a very good relationship with the kings in So, to a very large extent, I am the kind of candidate that if the ADC presents some of my campaign materials will stand the test of time. It won’t be damaged because I am from here.
They won’t be violently attacking me, because you are the son of the soil? Yes, absolutely. So, I am going to enjoy great benefit.
How do you rate this administration, borrowing, the policies and all the shenanigans of wanting to have a one-party state?
The amount of money they’ve borrowed, I don’t think we can pay back through our lifetime. We cannot see visibly, evidently what the money is used for. They came into government; they removed the benefits of an average 9 year. The first thing they did was to remove subsidy on everything. They removed subsidy on health, they removed subsidy on education, they removed subsidy on petroleum, they removed subsidy on electricity. They started telling you that for you to have cost of electricity that you are paying for, you have to be categorised by band.
Absolute nonsense, that’s fraud. So, I think that it’s been very unpleasant government. This is an administration where majority of its leaders went to school for free and they came back to us to tell us that for you to go to school, we have hiked the tuition. If you cannot afford it, come, we’ll give you loan for education, such fund is no advantage.
The loan fund is not a favour. Loan is a burden. So, I think that this administration is designed to inflict pain on Nigerians.
Of course, we cannot wait to see them leave. Their incompetence again is very loud and unprecedented.
