January 11 (THEWILL) – Former chairman of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State, Kayode Salako, on Wednesday, said he resigned as the party’s leader in the State to focus on his election as the party’s candidate for the House of Representatives seat in Oshodi-Isolo Constituency 1.
Salako disclosed this when he appeared on a Channels Television’s Programme, monitored by THEWILL on Wednesday.
Salako, on Tuesday, resigned from his position while handing over the party structure in the State to Mrs Dayo Ekong, as the new chairman.
Giving reasons for his resignation, Salako said he took the decision based on the directive by the national leader of the party, Julius Abure.
“We held our legal stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos yesterday (Tuesday). I willingly handed over the running of the affairs of the party to Mrs Dayo Ekong because I wanted to contest an election.
“I am the candidate of the party for the House of Representatives seat in Oshodi-Isolo Constituency 1. The election is about 40 days’ time and I need to concentrate to face the challenges”, he said.
He added that Abure told him to nominate his replacement as chairman, and he (Salako) picked Ekong because of “her doggedness and selflessness in the affairs of the party in Lagos.”
In 2022, a support group of the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, accused Salako of working against the party in the State.
The group, Peter Obi Grassroots Mobilisation 2023 Movement, had alleged that he was working for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, presidential candidate of the ruling APC, in Lagos.
“Labour Party Chairman in Lagos, Kayode Salako, is working for Tinubu. We must root him out of the party”, the group had said.