Politicians, the Nigerian mould, are ardent at the game of caprice. Quite unpredictable. They could be masters of histrionics and double speak. This is mainly because, although a few of them are genuinely out to serve, the motive of majority of them in seeking to serve is hardly altruistic.
That is why for them, as they say, there are no permanent friends but permanent interests, which are more often than not selfish. That resonates with the verity that a friend today could become a foe tomorrow.
The governorship primaries of the four visible political parties in Osun State— The All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Accord Party (AP) — have tended to expose the innards of the hen of our typical politicians. The parties’ attempts to pick their governorship flagbearers for the August 8, 2026 contest have been a potpourri of charade, theatrics and faux pas.
Just as the inveterate dancer-governor of the state, reputed for its world class, UNESCO-recognised Osun Osogbo cultural tourism grove, Ademola Adeleke, has the proclivity to enliven every public function he attends with his eclectic dancing prowess, in spite of his bulky frame, some of the parties’ governorship primaries have been steeped in a medley of high drama and outright shenanigans.
However, it is the Osun APC’s case that has shot out more boldly in mendacious intrigues like a gaudy anti hill in a desert. The party did a rather precipitous somersault, almost hitting the edge of the precipice before presidential intervention pulled it back in time. It was a near implosion.
Governor Adeleke hugged the theatric recently in the manner he took the governorship ticket of little known AP. That was after his political manoeuvres to pitch tent with the ruling APC had failed, even with the oblique nod of President Bola Tinubu.
Adeleke had pushed many of the heavyweights from the PDP to APC immediately he became governor and resorted to his ‘Ede-nisation’ policy.
Osun APC’s influential stakeholders, among whom are veterans in the game who have trailed their eyes on the coveted seat themselves, literally heckled and elbowed him out of the ambition to get his second term on the APC platform.
After a spell of rigmarole, pontifications and speculations, the governor eventually dumped the PDP and settled for AP, but not without a touch of histrionics. Even though he was the sole governorship aspirant, the beautiful bride AP leaders had ‘toasted’ and coddled, the party still glibly organized a charade-like election in which 150 delegates were said to have participated before he was handed the ticket!
The governor is relying on what he believes to be his performance in office to secure his second term victory. But his re-election will obviously be tough owing to his weak party platform. So much for the PDP’s version of high drama.
The ADC, in its own case, is yet to put its act together to pick its governorship flagbearer, eight months to the poll. It appears that the three tendencies and political interests that coalesced to form ADC, especially in Osun State— the PDP (known as ‘Isokan’), APC (known as ‘Omoluabi’, Rauf Aregbesola’s faction) and original ADC members— have not been able to successfully manage their differences to agree on the mode to pick their flagbearer.
The party does not appear to be on “ground” in the real sense of the word in Osun. Aregbesola’s political clout is probably exaggerated. The party appears to have reached a dead end. Matters are not helped by the fact that neither Atiku Abubakar nor Peter Obi, the two most influential leaders of the party, is bowing to each other. So, they do not seem to agree.
The diametrically opposing ambitions of both of them appear to be the blight. While Atiku, who is sure to get the ADC presidential ticket because of his deep pocket, is persuading either Obi or Rotimi Amaechi to be his running mate, Obi wants the ticket or nothing.
So, the gaps are widening by the day for ADC, while the center cannot hold. While the party is yet to hold its primary, an online publication came out recently with the news that the former Speaker, Dr. Najeem Salam, had been adopted as its gubernatorial candidate in Osun State.
But both the ADC National Public Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, and the Secretary of the Isokan Group within the Osun ADC, Comrade Ekundayo Olatunde, promptly dismissed the story, clarifying that the party is yet to hold its governorship primary.
Hinting of an attempt to impose Salam on the party by a faction of the party, Olatunde said: “ADC would not repackage governance policies dismissed by citizens in the past (imposition); the alleged decision from Lagos was totalitarian, dictatorial, and disrespectful of internal democracy…
“The party has not yet conducted its primary election, let alone endorsed any candidate. Nobody has adopted Salam. The purported endorsement is false and misleading.”
However, Osun APC’s governorship primaries ran into a tempest, badly marred by tendentious imposition intrigues. The problem would have caused serious fratricidal fissures capable of affecting the party’s chances in the August 8, 2026 governorship election but for President Tinubu’s timely intervention.
The battle to clinch the Osun APC governorship ticket had started quite early and impressively. A total of nine aspirants, including veterans and heavyweights such as former deputy governors, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) holders, had purchased and submitted both the Expression of Interest and Delegates forms, delegates backlog annual dues each, dissipating nearly ₦60 million in mandatory fees.
Many of the aspirants had been vivacious in prosecuting their campaigns and begun to build political structures across the 332 wards in anticipation of the December 13 (last Saturday) primary election in which the flagbearer was eventually picked.
However, the goal post of the contest shifted dramatically when seven out of the nine aspirants were disqualified by the Screening Committee. The disqualified aspirants immediately flew into a howling rage, describing their disqualification as “the joke of the decade” and “a poor attempt at internal sabotage.”
The disqualified aspirants were Iyiola Omisore, Babatunde Oralusi, Oyedotun Babayemi, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, Benedict Alabi, Adegoke Rasheed Okiki, and Babajide Omoworare.
The Screening Committee stated that the aspirants did not submit proof of sponsorship from at least five fully registered and financially current party members from each Local Government Area in Osun State, as stipulated by Articles 9.3(i) and 31.2(ii) of the APC Constitution and Paragraph 6(c) of the party guidelines.
But the aspirants, led by Senator Iyiola Omisore, a former Osun State deputy governor and past National Secretary of APC, who fielded questions from reporters after they lodged their protest before the party’s appeal screening committee on Saturday, faulted the committee’s claims, accusing party insiders of attempting to impose a preferred candidate, allegedly backed by the powers-that-be.
Omisore claimed that the screening panel, chaired by Obinna Uzoh, came under “intense pressure from powerful interests” seeking to edge out frontline aspirants like himself and six of his aggrieved colleagues.
Omisore particularly alleged undue interference by former Governor and current Minister of Marine Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, in favour of Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji.
The unfair manner the screening of the aspirants was handled and undemocratic way the aggrieved contestants, including SANs and PhD holders, were disqualified is highly repugnant. That the whole thing was driven by preference for a former governor’s candidate rather than merit renders the entire exercise an utter charade.
Imposition, in all forms, is obverse of freedom of choice, which is one of the beautiful hallmarks of democracy. Both the screening and appeal committees failed woefully in their duties. The appeal process was a mere subterfuge as it failed to address or the affected aspirants’ grievances.
The use of the pejorative tag “disqualification” is a misnomer. The party should expunge the tag from its dictionary.
It is irksome that the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, an otherwise respected intellectual buff, botched up the screening and appeal processes by easily kowtowing to pressure to leave those highly qualified aspirants in the cold.
The odious episode, like a commentator aptly captures it, “will remain a negative chapter in history, highlighting how favoritism undermines democracy, discourages excellence, and erodes public trust.”
Mercifully, President Tinubu, who had been monitoring the rising tension and the widening fissures of the storm, promptly summoned all the aspirants to the Villa days to the primary. Only Omisore did not attend the presidential mediation parley. But it came to light that he was actually not invited.
The President was able to successfully mollify the aggrieved aspirants. The headwind has simmered. And all the aspirants, including the aggrieved ones, eventually stepped down for Bola Oyebamiji. Omisore himself was to display a high sense of political maturity and sportsmanship by toeing the path of conciliation. He embraced the truce brokered by the President and accepted Oyebamiji.
As a result, last Saturday’s primary election was eventually held in a convivial atmosphere and in an exercise supervised by the Chairman of the Osun APC governorship primary election committee, Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, Oyebamiji’s election was unanimously ratified by affirmation. Okpebholo then formally presented him as the APC governorship candidate for the August 8, 2026 poll, drawing curtains on a tumultuous episode that ended in tragic-comedy.
It was an enthralled President Tinubu who applauded “all the aspirants who graciously stepped down in favour of Oyebamiji, demonstrating party loyalty and a collective commitment to the APC’s ideals”.
In a letter of congratulations sent to Oyebamiji, through the presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu admonished him (Oyebamiji) “to be magnanimous in victory by embracing all party leaders and former aspirants, ensuring inclusivity and cohesion as the party moves forward in the political process”.
From all indications, the Osun governorship battle is likely going to be a straight fight between APC’s Oyebamiji and the incumbent, Governor Adeleke, who had earlier picked Accord Party’s ticket. Adeleke’s platform may be weak, he should never be underrated because of incumbency advantage.
The aggrieved aspirants may have yielded to conciliation out of respect for the President, the party leaders should not not go to sleep yet. They should set the machinery in motion for a proper reconciliation that will permanently heal the wounds of injustice inflicted on the aggrieved aspirants, if it is desirous of winning the August 8, 2026 poll.
