By Taiwo Adisa, PhD
In a matter of days, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State would be called upon to name its governorship candidate. The same is true for all other state chapters of the party across the federation, though. But certain vibes have been oozing out of the APC structure in the Pacesetter State in recent weeks, indicating that the party has once again thawed the cloak of unity that briefly adorned its shoulders after the devastating outing in the Ibadan North House of Representatives by-election, which the Seyi Makinde-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won convincingly.
In the aftermath of that bad outing, where the then Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, posed as the party’s poster boy, the national leadership of the APC was said to have called for a reset to avoid a repeat of the shameful defeat in future elections. That was followed by the appointment of the former Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin, as the Renewed Hope Ambassador for the state and the recognition of the different pillars of the party as clear structures that would hold the rafter. The arrangement appeared to be yielding fruits as the APC leaders packaged themselves in Aso ebi around the 14 Federal Constituencies that constitute Oyo State. With heavy drumbeats, pomp and ceremonies, leaders of the APC traversed the federal constituencies spread across the three senatorial districts of the state’s seven geopolitical zones. They preached messages of Renewed Hope sent from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja, and they exuded the confidence that the renewed unity would propel the party to retake Agodi Government House, Ibadan, in 2027.
Of course, they are aware this will not come without a fight. The incumbent, Seyi Makinde, an engineer, had fought tooth and nail to secure his Omituntun 1.0 from the APC in 2019 and retained the slot in Omituntun 2.0, via calculated hard work and community efforts in 2023. As the PDP governor leaves the stage in 2027, he would certainly show more than a passing interest in who occupies the seat from May 29, 2027.
It appeared that peace had been restored to the APC corner after the Ibadan North debacle until April of this year. In fact, the party hierarchy had slated April 9 for a Unity Rally, which would signpost the newfound peace within its fold. But like the sharp sting of a bee, the party got jolted early that month, and it has so far been unable to lift itself off the pain of that sting. A list appeared in the state’s political scene, indicating that Senator Sharafadeen Alli had been picked as the consensus governorship candidate. Other Senate and House of Representatives seats were also allotted to different members. That development immediately shut the door on the planned Unity Rally and then orchestrated the expansion of another gulf of crisis within the party. Some members started pointing accusing fingers at one chieftain or the other. It is usually a blame game when such a situation occurs. Some blame the technocrats around the president; others directly point fingers at the man in the Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji. The funny thing is that the politicians would hardly blame themselves when things go wrong. They don’t admit the likely repercussions of conspiracies they weave behind others, and that when such conspiracies germinate, they bear fruit with thorns. Someone told me that some of those who raise accusations against Adedeji have been in politics for almost the entire lifetime of the tax man, yet they must find a convenient scapegoat at every instance.
In the last two weeks, things have really gone south for the APC in Oyo State. A party that was practically waiting for its coronation in 2027, has suddenly become torn into shreds that the falcon knoweth not the direction of the falconer. There is the camp they call Adakeja. They claimed that this group is led by Senator Teslim Folarin, the man who led the 2023 challenge for Agodi Government House. There is also the perceptively loud team of Adebayo Adelabu, which recently took Ibadan Airport by storm. The group’s leader, Adelabu, once claimed to be the party’s leader in the state, and then there is the BSA group, which is projecting Barrister Sharafadeen Alli as a possible candidate for the 2027 contest. Of course, there are other groups, but one that stands out is the caucus led by Ambassador Florence Ajomobi, which she inherited from her late husband, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, who governed the state from 2011 to 2019. All these groups appeared to be working in unison up to early April when the bubble burst.
Aside from the release of the consensus list, which triggered the fresh upheaval, some leaders of the party had two weeks ago hosted an event where Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli was presented as the consensus candidate of the APC in Oyo State. Senator Ayo Adeseun, who once represented Oyo Central Senatorial District and got popular with the Ayo Solar sobriquet due to his commitment to light up communities with solar street lights, was at the event. So was Alhaji Fatai Ibikunle, who currently serves on the board of the South West Development Commission(SWDC). One can hardly re-examine whatever conclusions these two political giants reached at any point in time. Adeseun served in the House of Representatives and the Senate. He understood the essence of the Appropriation Committee of the National Assembly. Ibikunle is a known ally of President Tinubu, so when the duo raised the hands of Senator Alli as the adopted governorship candidate in 2027, heads turned towards that direction. Could that be true? How did it happen? I join several persons who have taken the liberty to review that action of the elders. I will quickly submit that it is not because of Afojudi, but in difference to another saying of the elders, which I cover myself with. It says Omode gbon, agba gbon, la fi da Ile-Ife ( the wisdom of the young and old combined to build Ile-Ife). Of course, the reference here is not just to the source of the Yoruba race but to creation itself. So, to me, rather than accelerating the consensus process, the declaration by our two elders only appeared to have widened the chasm. You could see the Adelabu group publicly denouncing the said endorsement, especially the bid to drag Tinubu’s name into the conversation.
In the immediate instance, a caucus of the APC is pushing the candidature of the Senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District, High Chief Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, against other known faces, including the 2023 gubernatorial candidate of the APC in the state, Senator Teslim Folarin, former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and a three-term Senator, Abdulfatai Buhari, PhD, among others. Indeed, more than a dozen names have been linked to the governorship ticket under the APC in the build-up to the 2027 election. Some have obtained the expression of interest forms, while others have not. It’s always been like that. And as the Yoruba would say, Orisirisi obe lanri lojo iku erin. Different kinds of knives must surface at the demise of an elephant. The governorship of Oyo State can easily be likened to the presence of that gigantic mammal in a marketplace.
Going by the dictates of the 2026 Electoral Act, all political parties are compelled to determine their candidates for the respective elective offices in the next general election through two options: direct primary or consensus option. The Act nullifies the use of indirect primaries, which has often been used to the disadvantage of party members in recent years. The APC leadership has stated that, where consensus is not feasible, direct primaries would suffice. It looks as if the managers of Oyo APC are unable to learn from the happenings in Lagos and Ogun States. Even when attempts were made to drop the president’s name into the fray, there was no attempt to study the process the president followed in the determination of the ‘consensus’ in his own city. The Ogun State example also should have come in handy for Oyo Progressives. Everyone who mattered locked themselves up as in a Papal conclave and concluded. No one is allowed to step out until white some billowed. They say Aji se bi Oyo laari, but in this process, the Pacesetter progressives have more than one thing to learn from their neighbours.
