Follow Us on Google
By Vincent Kalu and Faheem Lawal
A former House of Representatives aspirant of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Chief Philip Ikechukwu Onwuka, has formally announced his resignation from the party following what he described as the theft of his mandate after emerging winner of the party’s primary election for Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency 2.
Onwuka, the promoter Capital Movement, a grassroots support group, made the announcement at an appreciation rally organised in his honour by the group at Ajao Estate, Isolo, Lagos, where thousands of supporters gathered under the theme, “One Movement. One Voice. One Future.”
Addressing the crowd, Onwuka said the primary election held in Oshodi-Isolo was a free and transparent exercise in which he defeated the incumbent lawmaker by a wide margin.
“There was a primary election conducted here in Oshodi-Isolo, and it was a seamless exercise, a free and fair election. In that election, I won with 1,052 votes, followed by the incumbent sitting House of Representatives member, Hon. Jessy Okey-Joe Onuakalusi, who got 314 votes. The third person, Honourable David, got 306,” he said.
He, however, alleged that the party leadership overturned the outcome of the primary in favour of the sitting lawmaker, prompting his decision to quit the party.
“To my greatest surprise, the NDC stole that mandate and gave it to the candidate who lost the election. I asked what the reason was, and they said it was the decision of the party to return all sitting members, Then I asked, since that was the decision, why did they allow us to go for the primary in the first place?
“Based on that, I resigned officially,” he said.
Onwuka said the rally was convened solely to appreciate residents of the constituency for turning out to vote for him during the primary, adding that he would soon declare a new political platform ahead of the 2027 general election.
“I am assuring the people of Oshodi-Isolo that if they vote for me in 2027, I am not going to disappoint them, my top priority will be human welfare and community development,” he said.
He also called on the political class to be more responsive to the plight of ordinary Nigerians.
“The system is very bad, the masses are suffering, my advice for the leaders is to look at the masses and govern them well.
Speaking further, Onwuka disclosed that he founded a mobilisation group, Capital Movement, which he said now boasts of over 11 million members nationwide and has continued to render support to widows and vulnerable persons across Lagos State.
