‘They’re telling lies’, Ex-minister dismisses Oyo APC consensus agreement, says Tinubu backed his ambition

The former minister of power, Adebayo Adelabu, has dismissed the endorsement of Sharafadeen Alli as the consensus governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State.

APC stakeholders in the state had on Friday backed Alli, a serving senator, as their preferred candidate for the 2027 election during a meeting in Ibadan.

Ayo Adeseun, a former senator, had claimed that President Bola Tinubu supported Alli’s emergence.

“Mr. President remains the leader of our party, and his opinion on who flies the party’s flag must be given due consideration,” Adeseun said.

However, Adelabu rejected the claim while addressing party members at an APC meeting in Ibadan South-East on Saturday.

He maintained that he personally secured the president’s approval to pursue his governorship ambition and described contrary claims as false.

Adelabu said those suggesting Tinubu had already endorsed a candidate in the state are “telling lies”.

“Before I resigned, I said, I need to see the person who appointed me for a face-to-face conversation. That was why I delayed my resignation to have time to see him (Tinubu),” he said.

“He called some stakeholders in Oyo so that when I see him, he will know what to tell me. I met him last week in a closed-door meeting. I can’t tell lies against the president publicly.

“He told me that ‘Bayo, it is time. We have been on this ambition for a very long time. It is a long-time ambition of yours. As much as I want you to be around me, I won’t hinder your ambition. Go and resign to start work’.

“By the grace of God, that is what he told me. He said he will look at it and reach out to two or three persons to see whether a consensus arrangement is possible, and that if it is not possible, we will go through the route of direct primary. That is what the president told me.

“Anybody saying he had a meeting with the president and that he endorsed someone is telling lies. They are telling lies.

“The president has not called anybody to endorse any candidate in Oyo.”

Adelabu further stated that even if the president eventually decides to endorse a candidate in Oyo State, he believes he would be the preferred choice.