The battle for supremacy between two powerful female politicians in Lagos; Mrs Kemi Nelson, the South West Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Mrs Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, the Women Leader of Lagos Chapter of the APC, took a new turn on Monday 27 August, 2018 after Kemi Nelson invaded the Lagos State secretariat of the party with thugs.
Kemi Nelson and Jumoke Okoya-Thomas
The fight was as a result of the supremacy battle between the duo and the South-West APC Woman Leader’s refusal to vacate the office she used during her tenure for her successor.
Nelson was elected as Lagos APC Woman Leader four years ago and few years after, she became South-West Woman Leader of the party. She held the two positions till May when Okoya-Thomas, a three-term member of House of Representatives, took over from her at the state level, while she was re-elected as South-West APC Woman Leader.
During the fight, which lasted for several minutes, Nelson and Okoya-Thomas aides and some of the secretariat staff were harassed and beaten, while some office and personal belongings such as television sets, chairs, tables and computers were destroyed and mobile phones stolen by hoodlums, who invaded the secretariat.
Hon Jumoke Okoya Thomas took to her social media page to share picture of her and Kemi Nelson during her 60th birthday with Lagos First lady, Mrs. Ambode, wife of senate president, Toyin Saraki, also present. She wrote;
Power is transient… This was myself with former Lagos State APC Women Leader, Mrs Kemi Nelson and other great women of our party at my 60th year birthday party, last year.
We were friends until I was voted to replace her in order to introduce new ideas to the development of our party. Since then, she has sworn to sabotage my efforts.
The progress of our party is more important to me than any distractions.