Oyo APC Risks Losing 2027 Guber Candidate Over Imposed Consensus — Stakeholders, Aspirants Warn
•By OYENIYI AWOJOODU
IBADAN — CONCERNED stakeholders and governorship aspirants in the Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have warned that the party could head into the 2027 governorship election without a candidate if an imposed consensus arrangement triggers legal disputes among aspirants.
The stakeholders cautioned the leadership of the party against forcing aspirants to adopt a consensus candidate ahead of the governorship poll.
The warning followed a meeting reportedly convened in Abuja on May 8, 2026 by the party leadership, with some governorship aspirants from the state in attendance.
In a statement issued by the Chairman of Oyo APC Concerned Stakeholders, Dr. Bamidele Atiba, the group urged the state APC Chairman, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, to avoid actions capable of deepening divisions within the party and undermining its chances in the 2027 election.
Atiba maintained that both the Electoral Act and the APC constitution provide for direct primaries where consensus arrangements fail, stressing that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had also supported the adoption of direct primaries in such situations.
Describing the recent Abuja meeting as “a show of shame,” Atiba said the stakeholders still respected Adeyemo but would resist any attempt to undermine direct primaries.
According to him, less than one per cent of the governorship aspirants seeking the party’s ticket for 2027 were invited to the meeting.
He further claimed that President Tinubu was not aware of what he described as a “sponsored meeting,” insisting that the wishes of party members and the masses should prevail over personal interests.
Atiba disclosed that the stakeholders would attend another meeting scheduled for Thursday but warned that any move to impose consensus would be strongly resisted.
“We will attend tomorrow’s meeting called by the chairman, but he should never talk about adoption of consensus. We will vehemently reject any attempt to truncate direct primaries in picking the party’s governorship candidate,” he said.
He reiterated that forcing all aspirants into a consensus arrangement would be rejected, stressing that the group remained committed to internal democracy and direct primaries in the selection of the party’s governorship candidate.