… Allegations of sabotage rock party over defection moves

… Aiyedatiwa remains loyal to APC, candidates, says CPS

The outcome of the Osun State governorship election has reignited concerns over alleged anti-party activities within the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), with supporters of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa accused of allegedly celebrating the party’s defeat.

The APC governorship candidate in Osun State, Bola Oyebamiji, had at the weekend lost the election to incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, a development that has generated mixed reactions within the Ondo APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Some of the governor’s supporters were said to have blamed the APC’s defeat in Osun on what they described as the imposition of Oyebamiji as the party’s candidate, while others allegedly celebrated Adeleke’s victory, raising questions about the loyalty of Aiyedatiwa’s camp to the national leadership of the party.

The development has further exposed the fault lines within the Ondo APC, particularly following recent protests by Aiyedatiwa’s loyalists against the National Working Committee’s (NWC) decision to reject aspirants allegedly backed by the governor as the party’s National Assembly candidates for the 2027 elections.

One of the aspirants backed by the governor for the Ifedore/Idanre Federal Constituency, Razaq Obe, who recently appeared on Arise TV, where he threatened that President Bola Tinubu would lose the state over the purported substitution of aspirants backed by the governor as authentic candidates.

Despite the governor’s claim that he had constituted a reconciliation committee to unite the party ahead of the 2027 elections, there are allegations that he is backing some aspirants who lost out in the APC primaries to challenge the party’s decisions in court.

There are also strong indications that some loyalists of the governor are exploring political opportunities outside the APC to contest the 2027 National Assembly elections on the platform of the PDP led by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, with sources pointing to the sudden withdrawal of a court case by one of the governor’s close allies as evidence of the alleged defection plot.

Sources within the party disclosed that the governor might have fallen out with Isaacs Kekemeke, the APC senatorial candidate for Ondo South, after allegedly discovering that the former South-West Vice Chairman of the APC lobbied for the retention of his name as the party’s candidate without the governor’s knowledge and influence.

The source explained that the governor had initially asked Hon. Mathew Oyerinmade, popularly known as Mato, to shelve his senatorial ambition and settle for the Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo/Odigbo Federal Constituency ticket, but that Oyerinmade subsequently withdrew his court case challenging the victory of the APC candidate, Hon. Festus Adefiranye, in order to prepare to contest the senatorial ticket on the PDP platform against Kekemeke.

“You know how our politicians think. The governor may be thinking that since he was not influential in securing the ticket that made Kekemeke the party candidate, he may not be loyal to him if he emerges as a senator. You know politicians always want 100 percent loyalty,” the source stated.

The source further alleged that Oyerinmade had already put forward his nephew, Akinwumi Oladodun, as a placeholder under the PDP platform and would step down for him at the right time.

It was also gathered that the governor’s camp had allegedly directed erstwhile APC chieftain and House of Representatives aspirant in Ilaje, Prince Idowu Mafimisebi, to defect to the PDP and contest the Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency against the APC candidate, Donald Ojogo.

According to the source, Aiyedatiwa never wanted Ojogo, an Ijaw man, to get the APC ticket, which was one of the reasons he supported Kekemeke, another Ijaw man, for the senatorial ticket, hoping that if Kekemeke got the ticket, that would automatically knock out Ojogo from the race.

“The Plan B is that, in case Adegboye loses in court, they will mobilise support for Prince Mafimisebi, who is already on his way to the Wike-led PDP,” the source alleged, adding that the governor’s ally and APC chieftain from Ese Odo local government area, Bibopri Ajube, was meeting with the ten ward chairmen from the local government in Lagos to mobilise support for Mato, Mafimisebi and Bekewe Olowu for the senate, reps and state assembly respectively.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the APC NWC is closely monitoring what it described as the governor’s alleged growing romance with opposition politicians, particularly those in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Aiyedatiwa was also alleged to have worked against the return of Senator Niyi Adegbonmire to the Senate, directing his Secretary to the State Government, Dr Taiwo Fasoranti, to resign a few weeks before the APC primary election and contest the Ondo Central senatorial primary against Adegbonmire, though Fasoranti eventually lost the primary.

Since then, there have been concerns over the consistent presence of Senator Ayo Akinyelure, the ADC senatorial candidate for Ondo Central and an ally of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, at the Ondo State Government House, with a photograph of Aiyedatiwa and Akinyelure taken after a Sunday service at the Government House Chapel recently going viral on social media.

The governor’s camp, however, has dismissed the claims as false and politically motivated, with the governor’s chief press secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, describing the allegations as “false, misleading, and a deliberate attempt to manufacture controversy.”

Adeniyan explained that the Government House Chapel is a public place of worship open to all citizens, irrespective of political affiliation, adding that Akinyelure attended the church service to worship and to thank the governor for sending a delegation and a goodwill message during his recent 70th birthday celebration.

Maintaining that Aiyedatiwa remained committed to the APC and its candidates, Adeniyan stated that the governor would work with all party structures to ensure the party wins the 2027 elections in Ondo State.

He urged members of the public and APC faithful to disregard what he described as the antics of mischief-makers seeking to create division within the party, adding that Aiyedatiwa would not be distracted from his mandate of delivering good governance and consolidating the gains of the APC in Ondo State.