• Super Admin
• 08 Mar, 2026

Barely six months to the 2026 Osun State governorship election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State is grappling with mixed fortunes, as the party's bold projection of one million votes contrasts with its recent ranking as 33rd nationwide in membership registration, raising fresh questions about grassroots mobilisation and electoral readiness of the opposition party in the state. Stakeholders within the state held that the party found itself at a critical crossroads despite bold assurances by party leaders, especially from groups, including the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, among others, ahead of the contest. According to data on the APC website, the total number of registered members as at the time of filling this report was 10,989,522, with 6,459,464 males and 4,529,876 females. Ekiti State has 92,917 registered members, amounting to 0.8% of the total registered members, while Osun accounted for 1% of the registration with 108,621 registered members. With the ranking, Osun stands at the 33rd position, while Ekiti occupies the 35th position, among states and the Federal Capital Territory. Prior to this development in APC, agitation for the party to pick its governorship candidate from the Osun West District surged as political groups and leaders advocated that the district should be considered for the 2026 gubernatorial ticket, should the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola decided not to run again. Subsequently, Oyetola dropped his gubernatorial bid, which resulted in nine aspirants throwing their hats into the ring to contest the gubernatorial ticket of the party. The erstwhile Managing Director of NIWA, Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji (Ikire, Osun West); Former deputy governor, Iyiola Omisore(Ile-Ife, Osun East); Prince Dotun Babayemi (Gbongan, Osun West); ex-Deputy governor, Benedict Alabi(Ikire, Osun West); an Insurance magnate, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi (Ile-Oogbo, Osun West); Barrister Kunle Adegoke, SAN(Osogbo, Osun Central); Senator Babajide Omoworare(Ile-Ife, Osun East); ex-Osun House of Assembly member, Dr Mulikat Jimoh(Ikirun, Osun Central); and Mr. Babatunde Hareter Oralusi (Ile-Ife, Osun East). These aspirants contested, but only Oyebamiji and Mulikat, the only female aspirant, passed the screening of the APC to contest the primary, a situation which raised dust within the party, until President Bola Tinubu intervened. Following the president's intervention, they agreed and presented Oyebamiji (AMBO) as a consensus candidate on December 13th 2025. Since the emergence of Oyebamiji, there has been uneasy calm within the party as Omisore grumbled over the development, faulting Oyetola for allegedly backing AMBO and using party mechanisms to favour him. However, the party leaders held a partial reconciliatory meeting at the residence of Chief Bisi Akande in December 2025, where they directed all aspirants to collapse their structures into APC for the victory of Oyebamiji. Also, the State Working Committee (SWC) APC rallied the eight governorship aspirants to close ranks and work as a united front ahead of the poll. The party said the emergence of Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO) as the party's standard-bearer has sent jitters into the ruling party's camp. Speaking with the Director of Media, Chief Kola Olabisi, said rising from the APC maiden meeting in the New Year, the state Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, was full of praises for the eight governorship aspirants, who embraced the emergence of Oyebamiji without resorting to crisis, rancour and animosity. He said Lawal also expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, the leadership of Agba Osun and other personalities, whose roles manifested in the successful emergence of one out of all the qualified governorship aspirants. "The successful conduct of the party's governorship election, which culminated in the seamless emergence of Asiwaju Oyebamiji, has sent jitters into the camp of the ruling party and others, as their hitherto sing-song had been that the exercise would be a recipe for imminent implosion. "The prevalent peace and tranquillity being enjoyed in the party today is due to the successful conduct of the governorship primary election, which was made possible by the embracing of the culture of supremacy of the party by the eight aspirants. "He said the names of the eight governorship aspirants, who did not allow their aspirations to bring down the roof of the party, shall be written in gold in the political history of the party in the state. "He enjoined the aspirants to continue to inform their lieutenants and supporters on the need for the party to go into the August 8, 2026, governorship election as an indivisible and impenetrable team with a view to winning the election and chasing Governor Ademola Adeleke back to his Ede country home. "He said both formal and informal reconciliation exercises were ongoing in the party, but it was imperative for him to single out the governorship aspirants, who had proved by their actions and inactions that they were complete party men come rain or shine." Strengths of APC One of the major strengths of APC is that since they left government in 2022 in Osun State, they have never lost any major member to the ruling party, except former Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who was expelled from the party alongside his allies over anti-party activities. The APC has welcomed more strong politicians from the ruling party into its fold since 2022 to date, including Senator Francis Fadahunsi(Osun East), Senator Olubiyi Fadeyi (Osun Central), House of Representatives members; Oluwole Oke, Sanya Omirin, Taofeek Ajilesoro, and other notable members, including former National Deputy Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Chief Shuib Oyedokun amongs others. Similarly, the APC has strong leaders across the nine Federal Constituencies of the state who can muscle up votes for the party in the forthcoming poll. The party has leaders in the major towns of Osun State, who normally determine who win election. The party has Nigerian Ports Authority Executive Director, Engr Olalekan Badmus and Senator Ajibola Basiru, the National Secretary of the party, who are strong in Osogbo and Olorunda, Kayode Oduoye(Ikirun), Oyetola in Iragbiji (Boripe), Fadahunsi, Omirin, Ajilesoro in Ijesaland, Chief Akande and Fadeyi in Ila-Orangun, Babayemi in Gbongan, Oyebamiji (gubernatorial candidate) in Ikire. Osun East Senatorial District, especially the Ijesaland, remains the stronghold of APC because of little or no benefit that accrued to them from the present administration of Adeleke and defection of their major political bigwigs of the party, including Senator Fadahunsi and Others. Also, the party that has picked the running mate of Oyebamiji, Kayode Benjamin Adereti from Ile-Ife, will go a long way to help the party's vote on August 15th 2026. APC's weaknesses One of the major weaknesses of the APC is the likelihood of being unable to secure genuine reconciliation from all the aspirants who were disqualified from the gubernatorial contest. Omisore, who is from the Ile-Ife kingdom, is not really pleased with the party, hence he may not work for the party's victory in 2026. Similarly, APC may suffer major support in Osogbo and Olorunda local governments, which is the state capital of the state, since the party picked its running mate in Ile-Ife. Also, APC may not have a good outing in Ede South and North because it is the hometown of the incumbent governor, Adeleke, who has done so well in the area of infrastructure for them. Some local government areas like Egbedore, Orolu, Iwo, Ayedire, Odo-Otin and Ola-Oluwa may support the reelection of Ademola Adeleke because he garnered support from the councils in terms of infrastructure. However, as the 2026 Osun State governorship election preparation is in top gear, the INEC, on Monday, published the final names of political parties' governorship candidates and their running mates, an act which has triggered fresh political calculations among parties. Subsequently, stakeholders are reviewing campaign strategies, alliance talks, and grassroots mobilisation plans, to align with the emerging electoral lineup, especially with the exclusion of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party(LP). The publication of the credentials of a former candidate for the House of Representatives, Ife Constituency, Kayode Benjamin Adereti, who is from Ile-Ife, as the running mate of the APC gubernatorial candidate, Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO), has triggered fresh calculations. The development settles earlier uncertainty within the APC after the commission's preliminary list had indicated that the party selected a former Chief Whip of the Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Tunde Olatunji, from Edunabon in Ife North Local Government Area, as deputy governorship candidate. The development was welcomed with mixed feelings as speculations had earlier indicated that the APC would pick its deputy from either Ile-Ife or Osogbo, considering the voters' strength in the state. According to the 2022 governorship election, APC was defeated in Ife North after securing 9,964 votes against Governor Ademola Adeleke, who got 10,359 votes. The final list published on March 5th 2026, shows that the Accord Party is presenting Governor Ademola Adeleke as its governorship candidate with Prince Kola Adewusi as running mate. In the Action Alliance (AA), Olarewaju Farinloye is the governorship candidate with Fadahunsi Olaniyi as deputy. The African Action Congress (AAC) has Esan Olajide as its candidate with Bello Yekeen as running mate, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is fielding Salam Najeem with Yemisi Temitope as deputy. The Action Democratic Party (ADP) is presenting Adeagbo Opawoye as its governorship candidate with Atanda Babatunde as running mate. For the APC, Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji will contest the governorship election alongside Benjamin Adereti as his deputy. Other parties on the ballot include the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with Adeyemi-Doro Olusanya and Duro-Oni Duro as deputy; the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) with Adewale Adebayo and Jimoh Shina as running mate; and the Action Peoples Party (APP) with Adesuyi Banji Clement and Odesola Oluseye. The Boot Party (BP) is fielding Adeleke Masilo with Aresa Kehinde Adenike as deputy. The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) is presenting Adeleke Taofeek with Adeyera Adesola as running mate, while the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has Saliu Oyelami and Adewale Alabi Solomon as deputy. The Young Progressives Party (YPP) is represented by Ogunsakin Enoch with Oyetola Taye as running mate, while the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) fields Adesuyi John Olufemi with Abdulsalam Olamide as deputy. With the final list now published, the APC effectively replaced the name of the former lawmaker, Olatunji, with Adereti, an indigene of Ile-Ife who contested the House of Representatives seat for Ife Federal Constituency in the 2023 general election. Adereti narrowly lost that contest after polling 51,051 votes against 53,078 recorded by his opponent. Reacting to the development, the APC, through its Director of Media, Kola Olabisi, described the choice of Adereti as a strategic decision aimed at strengthening the party's chances in the governorship election. He noted that the move was designed to balance political interests and position the party strongly ahead of the poll. Some local government areas like Egbedore, Orolu, Iwo, Ayedire, Odo-Otin and Ola-Oluwa, may support the reelection of Ademola Adeleke because he garnered support from the councils in terms of infrastructure. However, among the strengths of the APC is that since they left government in 2022 in Osun State, they never lost any major member to the ruling party, except Former Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who was expelled from the party alongside his allies over anti-party activities. APC has also welcomed more strong politicians from the ruling party into its fold since 2022 to date, including Senator Francis Fadahunsi(Osun East), Senator Olubiyi Fadeyi(Osun Central), House of Representatives members; Oluwole Oke, Sanya Omirin, Taofeek Ajilesoro and other notable members, including former National Deputy Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Chief Shuib Oyedokun amongs others. Similarly, the APC has strong leaders across the nine Federal Constituencies of the state who can muscle up votes for the party in the forthcoming poll. The party has leaders in the major towns of Osun State, who normally determine who win election. The party has NPA ED, Engr Olalekan Badmus and Senator Ajibola Basiru, the National Secretary of the party, who are strong in Osogbo and Olorunda, Kayode Oduoye(Ikirun), Oyetola in Iragbiji(Boripe), Fadahunsi, Omirin, Ajilesoro in Ijesa land, Chief Akande and Fadeyi in Ila-Orangun, Babayemi in Gbongan, Oyebamiji (gubernatorial candidate) in Ikire. Meanwhile, it was insinuated that the Accord Party may not field the incumbent deputy governor, Kola Adewusi who is from Ile-Ife, because months before the party chieftain passed a vote of no confidence on him. However, he was returned as the running mate to Adeleke. Source: https://thenationonlineng.net/osun-2026-apcs-strengths-setbacks-as-state-ranks-among-lowest-in-membership-registration/