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The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has battled internal fractures for years, but by August 2026, those cracks had widened into deep fault lines.

What should have been a straightforward campaign season became a crisis of loyalty, defections and mounting grievances, forcing the Presidency itself to intervene.

Five days before the governorship election, 76 APC leaders from Osun State were summoned to Abuja for a late-night meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The meeting followed a call from the National Security Adviser (NSA), who had alerted the Presidency to the growing discontent within the Osun APC. The warning was political, not about violence. The NSA reportedly told the Presidency that the grievances among party leaders had reached a level capable of undermining the APC’s campaign machinery in the state.

The delegation that arrived at Aso Rock included Olubunmi Ete, former Speaker of the House of Representatives; Mojeed Alabi, Adejare Bello and Wale Afolabi, all former Speakers of the Osun State House of Assembly; as well as senior party chieftains such as Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun, Poju Odusola and Bode Olanipekun. Others included Babajide Omoworare, a former presidential aide, and APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru, who coordinated the meeting.

These were not fringe figures. They were leaders who had carried the party’s banner for years, commanded constituencies and influenced legislation. Their grievance was straightforward: exclusion.
For three years, federal appointments and patronage from Osun were said to have flowed largely through former governor and current Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, and his IleriOluwa faction. Other party leaders felt sidelined, humiliated before their supporters and stripped of political relevance.
At the Villa, the 76 leaders demanded recognition. They sought a share of federal appointments, contracts and political influence.

They wanted assurances that the APC was not simply Oyetola’s personal political empire.
Some also expressed doubts about Bola Oyebamiji, the APC governorship candidate and former commissioner under Oyetola, questioning whether he would operate differently if elected.
President Tinubu’s assurance that there would be room for everyone at the federal level if state positions were exhausted offered some reassurance, but it did not fully address the grievances. Instead, the meeting appeared to postpone rather than resolve the deeper crisis.
Beyond the 76 leaders seeking inclusion were others whose grievances had gone much further—those who felt completely discarded by the party.

In December 2025, the APC screening committee disqualified seven of the nine governorship aspirants ahead of the party’s primary. The official reason was their failure to provide proof of sponsorship from registered party members across the required local government areas. However, to many party members, the development appeared to be a deliberate purge intended to clear the way for Oyetola’s preferred candidate.
Among those disqualified were Senator Iyiola Omisore, former deputy governor and immediate past APC National Secretary; Babajide Omoworare; Benedict Alabi; Akin Ogunbiyi; Dotun Babayemi; Babatunde Oralusi; and Adegoke Rasheed.
Bola Oyebamiji, regarded as an Oyetola loyalist, eventually emerged as the party’s candidate.
Omisore, in particular, felt betrayed.

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The Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar and the party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola storm Osogbo, Osun State capital, campaigning for the governorship candidate of the party, Mr Najeem Salaam.

The duo stormed the campaign venue around 3:30pm along with Salaam and other party stalwarts, as well s supporters who escorted the convoy from Ilesa.

On getting to the podium, Aregbesola, who sang different songs in Yoruba, urged the party supporters to disregard rumours that the party has entered into an alliance with another party.

He said the ADC is not working with any party but campaigning vigorously, and it is certain of victory on August 15.

“Don’t mind rumours that our party has entered into an alliance with another party for the Osun election on Saturday. We are not working with anyone. We have campaigned vigorously across the State, and we will win the governorship election”, he said.

As at the time of filing this report, Atiku and the candidate, Najeem, are yet to address the gathering.

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Campaign Council wishes to alert the good people of Osun State, Nigerians, and the international community to a deeply disturbing, desperate, and malicious plot orchestrated by Governor, Ademola Adeleke, in collusion with the Accord Party.

Having completely failed to match the rigorous, issue-based campaign of the APC, and realizing he has non-significant achievements to showcase, Adeleke has resorted to dangerous antics aimed at blackmailing the Nigeria Police Force.

Intelligence available to us reveals a preplanned, highly provocative plot to hire vulnerable women some of whom have been instructed to protest half-naked and march them to the State Police Command Headquarters in Osogbo.

Rather than allowing the police to carry out their constitutional duties without interference, Governor Adeleke is attempting to cow and intimidate the force.

This planned protest is nothing but a grand design to blackmail a professional security agency that has flatly refused to be compromised or pocketed by the state government.

It is deeply shameful that Adeleke is now using the very poverty he foisted upon the people of the State as a weapon of manipulation, distributing miserable peanuts to vulnerable and innocent women, this administration is cajoling them into taking part in a heavily compromised theatrical display against the police.

We state categorically to the international community and all well-meaning Nigerians that the police are not arresting innocent citizens, they are tracking down known criminals who have serious questions to answer regarding the recent wave of electoral violence across the state.

Lest the public forgets, it was in this state that a notorious individual, who had been officially declared wanted by law enforcement agents, was reported to be at the official residence of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

Instead of facilitating the legal process, the current administration raised objections to the police intervention. Furthermore, individuals with active warrants have been observed attending state government functions.

Resistance to these security measures suggests a desire to impede the course of justice.

The Osun APC Campaign Council wishes to emphasize that an election must never be seen as a do-or-die affair. The right to choose leaders rests solely with the electorate.

No amount of organized pressure or staged protests can alter the democratic process that leads to the election results, the decision belongs to the people of Osun State, and they will express their choice with their votes on Saturday, August 15, 2026.

Despite challenges and reports of harassment during this period, the APC has successfully toured every nook and cranny of the state, engaging directly with voters and presenting a clear vision for the future.

We remain resolute and focused on the upcoming polls, undistracted by the maneuvers of the state government and its allies in the Accord Party.

We urge the Nigeria Police Force and every other security operatives to remain professional and firm in preserving law and order. We additionally call upon our supporters to remain calm and law-abiding as we approach the election on August 15.

Signed:
Engr Oluremi Omowaiye
Head, Media and Publicity Committee,
Osun APC Governorship Campaign Council