He has acted like a senator to us because we have a senator who never even cared
In Eti-Osa, a constituency along Lagos' coastline, the democratic compact between a party and its members is being tested. Noheem Adams, a lawmaker who has served his people since 2017, won his party's primary by an overwhelming margin — yet his name does not appear on the APC's final candidate list. His supporters have gathered publicly to remind those in power that a vote freely cast and decisively counted carries a moral weight that procedure alone cannot dissolve. The question now before the party's leadership is whether primary elections are acts of genuine self-governance or merely rituals of consultation.
- A landslide primary victory — 7,638 votes against a rival's 1,225 — has been rendered invisible by the APC's final candidate list, leaving Adams and his supporters without explanation or recourse.
- Constituents who have relied on Adams for nine years of hands-on representation now face the prospect of losing their chosen lawmaker not to an election, but to a party decision made above their heads.
- The Noheem Adams Support Group has taken its appeal directly to President Tinubu, the APC National Chairman, and the Lagos State APC Chairman, framing the exclusion as a betrayal of democratic process rather than a procedural oversight.
- Stakeholders invoke the 2023 election cycle as a cautionary tale — when grassroots voices were ignored, internal fractures followed and opposition parties gained ground.
- The constituency waits in a state of suspended uncertainty, watching to see whether its primary votes will be honored as binding decisions or quietly set aside as inconvenient ones.
At the Eleganza Toll Gate in Eti-Osa, supporters of incumbent lawmaker Noheem Adams gathered to voice a grievance that cuts to the heart of democratic participation: their candidate won the APC primary by a decisive margin of 6,413 votes, yet his name was absent from the party's final candidate list. Adams secured 7,638 votes to Saheed Bankole's 1,225 — a result that left little room for ambiguity.
At a press briefing, Alhaji Owolabi Yisa of the Noheem Adams Support Group addressed direct appeals to President Bola Tinubu, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, and Lagos State APC Chairman Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi. The exclusion, Yisa argued, was not a procedural matter — it was a repudiation of the will of party members who had spoken clearly and freely.
Supporters drew on nearly a decade of lived experience with Adams. Community members described a representative who showed up when government problems arose, who engaged with youth, supported education, and maintained ties with traditional rulers, religious leaders, market associations, and development groups across Eti-Osa Constituency I. He was not a distant figure, they insisted, but one woven into the daily life of the constituency.
Beneath the immediate protest lies a broader warning. The stakeholders pointed to the 2023 election cycle, when decisions perceived as overriding grassroots choices had triggered internal crises and electoral losses. To discard a primary result this clear, they cautioned, risks demoralising supporters, fracturing party structures, and ceding ground to opposition parties. For now, the people of Eti-Osa wait to learn whether their votes will be treated as a mandate or merely a suggestion.
In the streets of Eti-Osa, a political wound has opened. On a recent morning, supporters of Noheem Adams gathered at the Eleganza Toll Gate to voice a single, sharp complaint: the lawmaker who has represented their constituency since 2017 has been left off the All Progressives Congress final candidate list, despite winning the party's primary election by a landslide.
Adams secured 7,638 votes in that primary. His nearest competitor, Saheed Bankole, managed 1,225. The gap between them—6,413 votes—was not a margin that invited dispute or recount. It was, by any measure, decisive. Yet somehow, when the APC released its final roster of candidates, Adams' name was absent.
At a press briefing, Alhaji Owolabi Yisa, who leads the Noheem Adams Support Group, made a direct appeal to three men: President Bola Tinubu, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, and Lagos State APC Chairman Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi. The message was plain. The primary voters had spoken. The mandate they granted should be honored. Yisa framed the exclusion not as a procedural matter but as a betrayal of democratic process—the will of party members, freely expressed and overwhelming, now apparently discounted.
The supporters who gathered that morning spoke from lived experience. Alhaji Surajudeen Abejamu told journalists that Adams had been present for constituents in ways the elected senator had not. When people needed help, when government problems arose, Adams answered. He had acted, Abejamu said, like a senator to them. Lukman Abiodun, another group member, echoed the refrain: Adams was the people's choice. He won the election. His name should be on the list.
The group's case rests on more than primary vote totals. They point to nine years of work—community engagement, youth empowerment programs, educational support, infrastructure advocacy, backing from traditional rulers, religious leaders, market associations, youth organizations, and community development groups across the constituency. This was not a distant politician, they argue, but one woven into the fabric of daily life in Eti-Osa Constituency I.
But beneath the immediate complaint lies a deeper anxiety. The stakeholders warned that overturning a primary result so decisively won could fracture the party itself. They recalled the 2023 election cycle, when decisions perceived as ignoring party members' wishes had triggered internal crises and electoral losses in some areas. Ignore the grassroots, they suggested, and you demoralize your own supporters, weaken your own structures, and hand opportunity to opposition parties. The math of politics is unforgiving: a divided house does not stand.
What happens next depends on whether those three men—the president, the national chairman, the state chairman—decide that a primary victory this clear deserves protection, or whether other forces in the party machinery have already determined otherwise. For now, the people of Eti-Osa Constituency I are waiting to see if their votes, cast in a primary election, will be treated as binding or merely advisory.
Citas Notables
He has acted like a senator to us because we have a senator who never even cared for any of us. Whenever we have any problems and we call on him, he is always here for us.— Alhaji Surajudeen Abejamu, member of the Noheem Adams Support Group
Adams was voted for in Etiosa 1 and he won the election. He's the people's choice and his name should be on the list.— Lukman Abiodun, group member
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a primary election result that seems so clear—7,638 to 1,225—end up disputed at all? What would cause the party to exclude someone who won by that margin?
That's the question everyone in Eti-Osa is asking. The official reason hasn't been stated publicly. But when a result is that decisive and still gets overturned, it usually means someone higher up in the party structure made a different calculation—about who they want representing that seat, or about internal power dynamics that have nothing to do with the votes cast.
The supporters keep mentioning that Adams has been in office since 2017. Does that matter? Is he being punished for something, or protected by something?
Incumbency cuts both ways. He has a track record people can point to—real work in the community. But he's also been in the seat for nine years, which means there are people who want that seat, and people in the party apparatus who might prefer someone more malleable or more aligned with their faction.
The group warns about 2023—that ignoring primary results caused problems then. Are they saying the party learned nothing?
They're saying the party has a choice to make. Honor the primary and keep the grassroots intact, or override it and risk the same fractures that hurt them before. Whether the party leadership sees it that way is another question entirely.
What does it mean that they're appealing directly to Tinubu? Is he the only one who can fix this?
It's a signal of how far up the chain this decision goes. If the state party chairman could resolve it, they wouldn't need the president. The fact that they're appealing to Tinubu suggests the exclusion came from above, or that they believe only the president has the authority to reverse it.
And if nothing changes? If Adams stays off the list?
Then you have a sitting lawmaker who won his primary decisively but was removed from the ballot anyway. His supporters feel robbed. The party looks like it doesn't respect its own rules. And in an election, that kind of internal resentment has real consequences.