The All Progressives Congress, APC, Governorship Primary Screening Committee has disqualified a former deputy governor, Engr. Iyiola Omisore and six other aspirants from participating in the forthcoming governorship primary in Osun State.

According to the Screening Committee, the disqualified aspirants did not provide evidence of sponsorship by at least five fully registered and financially up-to-date party members from each Local Government Area in Osun State, as stipulated in Articles 9.3(i) and 31.2(ii) of the APC Constitution and Paragraph 6(c) of the party’s guidelines.

Other disqualified aspirants are former Deputy Governor Benedict Olugboyega Alabi, Dotun Babayemi, Akin Ogunbiyi, Senator Babajide Omoworare, Kunle Adegoke (SAN), and Babatunde Haketer Oralusi.

Meanwhile, the APC screening committee has cleared two aspirants, Mulikat Abiola Jimoh and Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji to contest the primary.

Iyiola Omisore was the Deputy Governor of Osun State from 1999 to 2003.

He was a member of the then ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) but later defected to the APC in 2018.

Omisore was the Osun State Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 2018.

An Adamawa State chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and ally of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Umar Jada, has resigned from the party.

Jada, also known as Calculate, stepped down from his positions as Assistant National Publicity Secretary and North-East Publicity Secretary of ADC.

In a resignation letter dated December 1, 2025, and made available to journalists on Tuesday in Yola, Jada said, “I took the painful decision in order to refocus my attention on other critical life commitments.

“I write to formally tender my resignation as the assistant national publicity secretary and zonal publicity secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), effective immediately.

“The decision is based purely on personal grounds after careful reflection on my current commitments, responsibilities and the direction I must now take at this stage of my life. Stepping down is a difficult but necessary choice I made to allow myself to attend to pressing personal matters that require my full attention.”

He added, “I remain deeply grateful for the trust and support extended to me throughout my period of service. It has been an honour to contribute to the growth, visibility and strengthening of our great party. I cherish the experiences, the teamwork and the ideals we collectively uphold in our pursuit of a better and more democratic Nigeria.

“Please be assured of my continued respect for the party’s leadership and my unwavering goodwill towards the ADC. I remain committed to supporting the party’s values and aspirations in whatever way my circumstances may allow in the future.”

The All Progressives Congress (APC), on Monday, said it will defer to the Elders’ Council in Osun State in determining the direction of the forthcoming governorship primary scheduled for Saturday, December 13, 2025.

This assurance was given by the Party’s National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, when the leading gubernatorial aspirant in Osun State, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO), submitted his Nomination and Expression of Interest forms for the 2026 governorship election at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja.

Asiwaju Oyebamiji, accompanied by an unprecedented number of state and national leaders, officials, and critical stakeholders, submitted his form at exactly 5:00 p.m.

Argungu, represented by the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Nze Chidi Duru, said the party is determined to “get it right” in the 2026 election by respecting the wisdom and guidance of the Osun Elders’ Council during the primary.

According to him, Osun State remains strategically important to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and must be reclaimed ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“Osun is important because it is in the South West and it is also part of the State we want in our fold before the 2027 general election. Also, the President has a special interest in the State; therefore, we must get it right this time.

“We have elders in the Osun APC, and definitely, if we concede to the elders, we won’t lose the State, and we will get it right as well,” Argungu stated.

He also urged Oyebamiji and his supporters to continue to conduct themselves peacefully as the primary approach.

Speaking earlier, the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Bashir, said the party must secure a decisive victory in the 2026 Osun governorship election.

Senator Ajibola, who recently stepped down as an aspirant ahead of the APC primary, noted that Osun remains one of the key states the party is determined to win convincingly.

He, however, urged party members to remain united before and after the primary election in order to ensure victory for the APC.

“We must deliver massively for President Bola Tinubu in 2027. It is one of the States that we are looking forward to winning with a very large margin.”

Speaking after submitting his forms, Asiwaju Oyebamiji declared himself the aspirant to beat in the December 13 primary, stressing that his professional and public service record sets him apart.

According to him, his track record in the banking sector, where he spent 28 years, his stewardship as Managing Director of Osun State Investment Company Limited (OSICOL), his tenure as a two-time Commissioner for Finance in Osun State, and his recent accomplishment as Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), speak volumes.

“I dare to tell you with modesty that I am an aspirant to beat to have resigned my appointment. I worked in the private enterprise, especially in the banking sector, for 28 years, and this is the sector where I was formed, which is a target-oriented sector.

“It is a sector that you just must be profitable, you must work it, and you must know your onion. I worked there, and I have my records, and I resigned from that opportunity to join the public sector. When I joined the public sector in 2012, I was made the managing director of a state investment company and the records are there for any of us here to verify. We did very well, and I’m proud of myself.

“After that, I was the managing director when I was appointed the Commissioner for Finance during former Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration, and we exceeded. I am a Commissioner for Finance without a blemish, and just like you said, I was appointed the managing director of NIWA. My two years in NIWA were fantastic. It was a record that has never been matched since the creation of that authority.