Politics
Tension in Osun APC over zoning of 2026 governorship ticket
From all indications, it appears that all still not well with the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, despite the exit of the former governor of the state, and former Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and his group known as Omoluabi Progressives for anti party activities, which led to the defeat of the party in 2022 governorship election.
Since the 2022 election, when the party lost to the present government of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), things have not been that smooth in the party, which has been moving from one crisis to the other, over its leadership, and who controls the party between Aregbesola and his successor, Gboyega Oyetola, current minister of Marine and Blue Economy.
Things have been so turbulent that at a time it led to physical assaults among the supporters of the two warring leaders until Aregbesola and his men finally quit late last year in a controversial manner, which gave the Oyetola’s group the absolute control of the party.
Although Aregbesola and team were fingered for causing problems, however, now that they have left, and at the time when it was perceived that peace has finally come, the coming governorship election and the bid to unseat the incumbent, Governor Ademola Adeleke of the PDP in 2026, has again ignited another round of crisis.
The coming governorship election next year, appears to have opened up a fresh battle ground among members, who are now in different camps over who to field, and zone the ticket of the party should go.
The party is now worried and greatly unsettled, with this, which as well, has been causing tensions among members, who are agitating for either zoning, free all contest among aspirants, and those strongly against the endorsement of the former governor of the state, Gboyega Oyetola.
Before now, some groups of people across the 30 Local governments of the state within the party and his political group “Ileri Oluwa” had endorsed Oyetola and this endorsement made a lot of members believed that even without the primary, yet to be conducted, the ticket of the party has been automatically handed over to him.
His actions as well, in the last few months, have shown his euphoria that he has no opposition unless he decides to quit the race.
It is this impression that some top members and stakeholders of the party, which has informed the statements and utterances that Oyetola deserves the first choice for the ticket, until he proves otherwise; that he would no longer contest, before any other person from any part of the state could be considered.
This was also the decision at the Elders and Stakeholders caucus meeting, held at Iwo recently, which was presided over, by Mr. Akin Omolaoye and which had prominent members of the party, such as former deputy governor, Benedict Alabi, former Speakers Mojeed Alabi and Adejare Bello, who was the immediate past Ambassador to Spain, and Senator Mudashir Hussein among others in attendance.
Although these elders too realized that the situation has changed from the time when Oyetola was endorsed, they believed that other zones and, especially Osun West, deserved to be considered, but it was believed by other members, especially in the Osun West Senatorial Zone, that their stand was too soft and tilted towards Oyetola, who they are not willing to offend.
Analysis of the tone of their statement at the end of the meeting, where they called on all groups and interests in the party to put on hold utterances, statements, memos, and communiques regarding the coming 2026 governorship election in the State, showed clearly that they are in support of zoning and not wholly in support of Oyetola, but they seem to be playing politics as they would not want to be seen as heating up the situation, which is already on the ground, over the candidature, and the zone that is most acceptable to hold the ticket of the party.
What they arrived at indicates clearly that they were only playing to the gallery:
Hear them, “party unity is more important than the ambition of any individual member. Osun West remains the APC’s stronghold and is capable of unseating the ruling party if given the opportunity to represent the party in the next governorship election.
“We do not have an anointed candidate, but we are speaking with one voice and if Oyetola is not contesting, it is the turn of Osun West to fly the party’s flag. We have more than a hundred qualified candidates in this district, and our priority is to produce the best candidate when the opportunity arises”.
“We appeal to external forces to desist from making statements and taking actions that could divide the party. We are one big family in the APC, and we are committed to remaining united.”
But what they have canvassed was seen as not hitting the nail properly on the head, as some of the youth across the state, especially from Osun West, have come out to outrightly rejected Oyetola and any other zone but only Osun West.
However, the governorship contest, which rather than unite the party is now in a way, polarizing it. Even recent events have shown that there is no way members could speak with one voice anymore because individuals and sectional interests have started manifesting on the governorship ticket.
With exchange of words and brick-bats among party members, interests groups, organisations and even the youths attacking the elders, which has heightened tensions, it was argued that there is no way rancour could be avoided during the primaries for the governorship ticket of the party.
The groups which have commented on the governorship are the Osun Progressives Independent Forum (OPIF), and the Coalition of Osun APC Interest Groups (COAIG).
The OPIF believed that the ticket of the party should be made open and should not be restricted to a particular zone, but be given on merit.
The group canvassed that the party needs a person, who is tested and with integrity, and there should be no sentiment in picking the candidate for the party.
The Coordinator of the group, Satiregun Olayiwola, said that zoning should be jettisoned, and someone in any of the zones, who is capable of winning an election, and would be acceptable by the electorate having touched lives positively across the state, deserves the ticket of the party.
He pointed out that the group does not believe in zoning because most times zoning does not produce acceptable materials wanted by the generality of the people but only the zone from where the candidates come.
However, the Coalition of Osun APC Interest Groups (COAIG) has frowned against the position of the OPIF and called for the zoning of the ticket to Osun West to bring a fresh perspective and address the unique developmental challenges of the district.
The group, according to its Director of Public Engagement and Operations, Iwolode Samuel, praised OPIF’s contributions to the party but condemned the group’s position on zoning.
He argued, “A leader emerging from Osun West could bring innovative solutions and align district-wide developmental goals with our broader state objectives.”
He said that in as much as the contributions of people from other zones are appreciated, especially Osun Central, COAIG calling for zoning is a call for promoting diversity and fostering a governance structure that reflects the state’s unique composition.
“This is not about discrediting others but about promoting diversity and ensuring governance that reflects the state’s rich diversity,”. .
“Zoning is a tool for equitable representation and a means to correct historical imbalances. Zoning to Osun West is a bold step towards ensuring that democracy works for everyone, not just a select few,” .
“We invite dialogue and continued discussions on how zoning can be effectively implemented to serve the best interests of Osun as a whole. Together, we can prioritize unity and collective advancement over division,” the group argued.
“Our vision as a group, is to chart a course for sustained development that transcends political divides and captures the aspirations of every Osun citizen.
The argument of the group over marginalisation is that Since 1999 when this Democracy started in Osun State, the Progressive party has governed for four terms of 16 years. Of all these 16 years, Osun West senatorial district, which has the largest local government area by population, has not earned a day to govern the state.
“The 16-year stint has been between other senatorial districts in the state. Therefore, if the call for a political shift to Osun West in 2026 has reached its crescendo now, it is sensible, fair and just. It is not aberrant, neither is it strange. It is a call for fairness and equity.
Iwo, one of the 10 local governments in the district, has the largest population in the whole of Osun State with 191,348 people, according to the 2006 census. Irewole, one of the big local government areas in the district, also has 142,806 people, just few thousands less than the two Ede local government areas, the home base of the current governor, which have 159,307 in population, according to the 2006 Census.
Whereas the Progressive parties, from the Alliance for Democracy (AD), to the Action Congress of Nigeria ( ACN) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) have looked elsewhere for their choices of governorship candidates, the Osun West senatorial district has consistently given absolute support to the parties at the poll. The results of recent governorship elections in the state would attest to this claim.
“Even though the People’s Democratic Party had selected its gubernatorial candidate from Osun West in the last two governorship poll, the district delivered two federal constituencies to the All Progressives Congress (APC). While the governorship candidate of the PDP, who is now the governor of the state, won in 4 of the 10 local government areas in Osun West, the APC defeated PDP in 6 LGAs. This was the experience in 2018 as well as in 2022.”
“In the 2022 elections, for instance, APC polled 17,421 votes in Iwo LGA as against PDP’s 16,914 votes. In Irewole, APC clinched 18,189 while PDP clinched 14,216. In Olaoluwa, APC also got 9,123 votes as against PDP’S 7,205 votes just as it got in Ayedaade 14,527 votes as against PDP’s 13,380. APC also defeated PDP in Isokan and Ayedire local government areas.
“If the Osun West could give our party, APC, this massive support at the poll even though the PDP candidate was from this zone, it could be better imagined if our party settles for an Osun West candidate in the 2026 poll.”
“We should also recall that of the 343,945 votes received by President Bola Tinubu in Osun State in the 2023 presidential elections, 102, 826 of these votes came from Osun West senatorial district.
“We appeal to the leadership of the party at the state and national level, particularly President Bola Tinubu, Baba Bisi Akande, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduji (National Chairman of APC), Engr. Sola Akinwunmi (Chairman of Osun APC Elders Council), to graciously consider the bid of the Osun West senatorial district to solely present the party’s candidate in 2026 to give the large follower-ship of the progressive ideals a sense of belonging.” the group pointed out.
In his reaction, the former Information Commissioner in Osun State under Aregbesola, Mr. Sunday Akere, was of the view that rotation among the three senatorial districts in the State, no doubt would be significant in deciding the election, and the party may not consider any other zone but Osun West if Oyetola refuses to run for another term.
According to the former Commissioner, “I don’t think the party would think of any other zone than Osun West, which would be our focus if Oyetola declines to vie in 2026.”
Akere was convinced that the party has credible personalities across the three senatorial districts capable of delivering victory in 2026. He was also of the opinion that Osun West is best suited for fairness in as much as all the majority of the bigwigs from the district are eminently qualified to pick the ticket and deliver victory for the party.
According to him, “For fairness, the APC will focus more on Osun West Senatorial District for its candidate. I will not mention names but you are all aware that every major politician in the district is academically, psychologically and morally qualified to wrestle power from Gov. Adeleke in 2026.”
Indication further shows that the party and members are divided and no longer the same, now that the governorship issue is gathering momentum, as Akere came under severe attack by a group known as the Osun Progressive Youths (OPY), and even the leaders of the party, which castigated and labeled him as undemocratic, and a self-serving leader, who does not represent the interest and wishes of APC.
The Coordinator of the youth’s Organisation, Oladele Oladejo, warned Akere not to foment crisis and disunity within APC, which his reaction on zoning the governorship ticket to Osun West could trigger. He fumed, “Such a statement is not expected from someone who is supposed to know better how party politics works. Akere cannot speak for the party. The position of the ex-commissioner also negates the principles of fairness and the ideals of inclusivity on which the APC was formed and thrived. He should stop playing the role of APC spokesman and focus on how to brighten the party’s chances during the election.” The youths declared.
The leadership of the party is not also at home with what Akere has said concerning zoning, saying, the party has not taken any position on the zone that would produce its governorship candidate.
Director of Media and Information of the party, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, called on party members to disregard Akere’s position, as what he said on the zoning of the governorship, was just his personal opinion on the matter.
The party’s spokesman argued, “the decision on where the party’s next governorship candidate will come from cannot be taken under the table; it shall be made public to all stakeholders. Therefore, it is needless for our members and supporters to have sleepless nights on the issue as it is a yet-to-be-treated party affair whose process would be as transparent as ever when the time comes.”
Meanwhile, contenders have started emerging from all three zones of the state, which it was argued would make the primary of the party very competitive.
Those whose names have been mentioned are Adegboyega Oyeola (Osun Central), Ajibola Basiru (Osun Central), (Bola Oyebamiji) (Osun West), Dotun Babayemi, (Osun West), Jide Omoworare (Osun East), Olalekan Badmus (Osun Central)
