[FOR THE RECORDS] Full Text of Address by Coalition of Osogbo Youths and Women’s Group Ahead of Osun APC guber primary

PRESS ADDRESS BY THE COALITION OF OSOGBO YOUTH AND WOMEN’S GROUPS HELD AT THE OSOGBO CITY HALL, OLONKORO, OSOGBO, TODAY TUESDAY THE 25TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 2025

Distinguished members of the press, thank you for joining us today.

We speak as the Coalition of Osogbo Youth and Women’s Groups. Our purpose this morning is straightforward. As the All Progressives Congress undertakes the screening and evaluation of its aspirants for the 2026 governorship ticket in Osun State, we believe it is important to place certain facts, expectations, and commitments on record. Our demand is simple. Osogbo deserves to be considered for the governorship ticket, and the reasons extend beyond sentiment.

1. Osogbo’s Strategic Electoral Weight

For years, Osogbo has been central in determining electoral outcomes in this state.

The recently updated voter registration in Osun State (through the Continuous Voter Registration) has resulted in 1, 954, 800 registered voters, with 360,794 uncollected Permanent Voter’s Cards. With this update, Osogbo and Olorunda have not less than 300,000 registered voters, which represent 15% of the total registration in the state, which is the highest from any single town. No other town comes very close. These numbers speak to a disciplined and highly mobilisable electorate.

That volume of committed voters has consistently shaped outcomes in close contests. Any party that carries Osogbo convincingly enters an election with a decisive advantage.

2. Unprecedented Mobilisation Commitment from Osogbo Stakeholders

Our coalition has spent months engaging traditional leaders, community elders, youth organisations, business leaders, and civic groups. Across these conversations, one message reappears. That is, if the APC fields an Osogbo-born candidate, the town is prepared to galvanise its full political machinery. Grassroots structures, neighbourhood teams, youth mobilisation networks, community outreach platforms, and voluntary support groups are already in motion. The resolve is genuine and collective.

3. Two Osogbo-Origin Aspirants with Broad Support

With Senator Ajibola Basiru (the National Secretary of the party) having withdrawn from the race, two aspirants from Osogbo remain. They are:

1. Mr. Kunle Rasheed Adegoke (K-RAD), SAN
2. Professor Rafiu Durodoye

Both men enjoy significant goodwill across Osogbo’s traditional institutions, youth communities, business circles, and civic bodies. Their ambitions reflect the town’s confidence in its capacity to lead. Durodoye is a United States-based Professor of Mathematics. Adegoke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is a long-standing member of the APC and doubles as the party’s leading attorney. He first aspired to the state’s number one position under the same APC in 2018.

4. Our Call to the Party’s Screening Committee

We urge the party’s leadership to-

1. give thoughtful priority to aspirants of Osogbo origin as screening progresses.

2. engage both aspirants directly and evaluate their alignment with the goals and aspirations of Osogbo stakeholders.

3. consider the mobilisation commitment that Osogbo is prepared to bring into the election. This support is not peripheral. It is central to the task of winning.

Selecting an Osogbo-born candidate strengthens the party’s electoral prospects and affirms Osogbo’s longstanding contribution to the APC’s success.

5. Closing

We wish to clarify why our demand is directed specifically to the All Progressives Congress at this moment. In assessing the political landscape of Osun State, we took note of a simple but important fact. Of the three major political parties in the state, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have already reserved their governorship tickets for the West Senatorial District of the state. The APC, however, is still in the process of screening its aspirants, and among those aspirants are two individuals of Osogbo origin.

This reality shapes the basis of our call. It offers the APC a genuine opportunity to recognise Osogbo’s standing within the state and to demonstrate a commitment to balanced representation.

We present this position in a spirit of partnership. Our coalition stands ready to work with the APC leadership to support a united, well-organised and community-rooted campaign. Selecting a candidate from Osogbo is more than a strategic gesture. It is an acknowledgment of Osogbo not only as a reliable voter base but also as a meaningful stakeholder in the future of Osun State.

We appreciate your time, your attention and your dedication to reporting this message with fairness and accuracy. Thank you.

Signed on behalf of the Coalition of Osogbo Youth and Women’s Groups:
1. Abdulrahman Okunade, Esq.
For: Osogbo Affairs Forum (OSAF)

2. Mr Olushola Abass
For: Osogbo Progressive Youth Movement (OPYM)

3. Comrade Adeleke Idris
For: Osogbo National Students Union

4. Mr. Olalekan Kajola
For: Ààrè Ò Pétà

5. Mr Muktar Ajelogbon
For: Osogbo Peace and Unity Advocacy (OPUA)

6. Mrs Sholaduro Ladipo
For: Osogbo Indigenous Sisters Association

7. Mrs Motunrayo Adewumi
For: The Great Osogbo Daughters

8. Mr. Olabode Kamordeen Omosola
For: Osogbo Development Action Group (ODAG)