APC Govs aspirants step down after meeting with Tinubu

A fresh wave of political tension has gripped the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress as the dramatic boycott by former National Secretary of the party, Iyiola Omisore, overshadowed a high-stake meeting convened by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa.

The crucial meeting, called to resolve weeks of internal friction ahead of the party’s governorship primary, ended with seven aspirants stepping down and adopting former Commissioner for Finance, Bola Oyebamiji, as the consensus flag-bearer. But the no-show by Omisore — who earlier blasted his disqualification from the race as “a joke taken too far” — cast a long shadow over the reconciliation effort.

Sources at the Villa told Eighteen-Eleven Media that President Tinubu, who personally appealed for unity, urged all governorship hopefuls to put aside personal ambitions to prevent the party from sinking into avoidable crisis. However, Omisore’s absence was interpreted in political circles as a deliberate act of defiance, signalling a looming showdown within the party.

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Omisore, a former deputy governor and long-standing political heavyweight in Osun, had described the screening committee’s verdict that barred him from participating in the primary as “a reckless and malicious attempt to silence credible contenders”, insisting he remained a legitimate aspirant. His boycott is now being viewed as the clearest indication yet that he may launch a full-scale challenge against the party leadership or take his grievances to court.

Despite the simmering tension, other aspirants present at the meeting agreed to withdraw in the interest of party cohesion. Those who stepped down include former deputy governor Benedict Olugboyega Alabi, Dotun Babayemi, Akin Ogunbiyi, Senator Babajide Omoworare, Kunle Adegoke (SAN), Babatunde Haketer Oralusi, and Mulikat Abiola Jimoh.

In a brief remark after the closed-door session, a senior APC official said the decision to rally behind Oyebamiji was aimed at preventing a fractious primary that could weaken the party’s chances in the gubernatorial election. He added that Tinubu emphasised the need for unity and discipline, noting that “the party must move forward with a single, unifying candidate.”

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However, Omisore’s camp maintains that the purported consensus is illegitimate without his participation, insisting that “no meaningful reconciliation can take place when injustice remains unaddressed.”

With the primary fast approaching, the spotlight now shifts to how the APC leadership intends to manage the fallout from Omisore’s boycott — a development analysts say could either fracture the party ahead of the polls or force a renegotiation of its internal power dynamics.