A by-election was held for the Lagos seat in the

Legislative Council of Nigeria A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as ...

on 5 March 1941. It was required after the incumbent member

Kofo Abayomi Oloye Sir Kofoworola Adekunle "Kofo" Abayomi (10 July 1896 – 1 January 1979) was a Nigerian ophthalmologist and politician. He was one of the founders of the nationalist Nigerian Youth Movement in 1934 and went on to have a distinguished public ...

of the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) resigned in order to move the United Kingdom to take up a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

in ophthalmology. Although

Ernest Ikoli Ernest Sissei Ikoli (1893–1960) was a Nigerian politician, nationalist and pioneering journalist; he was the first editor of the Daily Times. He was the president of the Nigerian Youth Movement and in 1942, represented Lagos in the Legislative C ...

of the NYM was elected with 56% of the vote, the controversy caused by the election led to the eventual demise of the party.

Campaign

After Abayomi resigned both Ikoli and

Samuel Akisanya Samuel Akisanya, (1 August 1898 – January 1985) was a Nigerian trade unionist and nationalist based in Lagos, Nigeria during the colonial era, one of the founders of the Nigerian Youth Movement. He was also the Oba of Isara, an office which ...

ran for the NYM nomination to be the party's candidate. Akinsanya had also sought the party's candidature for the

1940 by-election Year 194 ( CXCIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Septimius and Septimius (or, less frequently, year 947 ''Ab urbe co ...

, but had lost to

Jibril Martin Alhaji Jibril Martin (20 November 1888 - 13 June 1959) was a Nigerian lawyer and educationist who was a member of the Nigerian Legislative Council. He was also chairman of the Hajj Pilgrims’ Board of Nigeria’s Western region, following the ind ...

. Akinola Maja joined the contest as a third candidate at a late stage. An internal party primary was held in which Akinsanya received 108 votes, Ikoli 60 and Akinola Maja 37.Asuzu, p215 However, the NYM central committee, which had the power to review the result, chose Ikoli as the party's candidate. Although Akinsanya initially congratulated Ikoli, he later changed his mind and decided to run as an independent with the support of

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the n ...

Results

Aftermath

The controversy over the candidate selection resulted in a split in the NYM; Azikiwe left the party and was followed by several other members, eventually leading to the party being dissolved.Falola & Genova, p261

References

{{Nigerian elections

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

1941 elections in Africa 1941 in Nigeria 20th century in Lagos March 1941 events 1941 elections in the British Empire