Over the last few days, the social media has been agog with reports of the meetings some Osun APC Elders and Leaders held with Senator Iyiola Omisore, to get him to support Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji AMBO, the party’s governorship candidate and his running mate.
They are worried that since AMBO emerged, Omisore had kept his distance and he has not been involved in efforts at galvanising support for him. They are also worried at the allegations that if they don’t get Omisore’s buy-in, he might pull a big surprise on them that might make the APC lose Osun yet again.
So, a few days back, Chief Bisi Akande & Minister, Adegboyega Oyetola met with Senator Iyiola Omisore to strengthen and harmonise strategies ahead of the forthcoming Osun State governorship election scheduled for August 15, 2026.
Chief Bisi Akande, who is the former Governor of Osun State is like the father of the party in the state. Omisore was his deputy during his first term and both fell apart over Baba Akande’s 2nd term bid. But both have since made up.
Adegboyega Oyetola, currently the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy was the immediate past governor of Osun. He and Omisore had enjoyed a cordial relationship until a few months back when Omisore accused Oyetola of edging him and other aspirants out of the Osun governorship race and giving Ambo the governorship ticket of the party.
Oyetola is also the Apex leader of the APC in Osun. He, it is, who oversees the running of the party. But since AMBO emerged, Omisore had vehemently refused to be part of the preparations for the governorship race. Omisore’s anger is that Oyetola has been unfair to him. And severally, he has come to blame Oyetola for the way he was humilated, preparatory to the primaries.
In a high-stakes political game, Omisore had been made to believe that he would secure the governorship ticket and because of this he blocked moves by Osun governor to cross over from PDP to APC to run for governorship, not knowing there were counter-plans to edge him out of the race.
But 4 months to the Osun governorship elections, there are palpable fears that having Omisore as an enemy outside could spell doom for the party.
This is also because Senator Omisore is a formidable force in Osun politics, especially in Ife where he hails from. He is from Ile-Ife, Osun East. He is the Balogun of Ife. He controls a lot of Ife votes. Over time, he has shown how important he is in Osun politics as his Ife bloc votes delivered governorship to Oyetola to win, via a run off deal years back. He was in PDP then. He joined APC in 2022, became the National Secretary and delivered Osun South/Ife for Pres. Tinubu in 2023.
City People can authoritatively reveal that Omisore controls Ife Central Structure. In the politics of Osun, politicians don’t joke with Ife Federal Constituency votes. It consists of 4 local government areas namely:Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North and Ife South. And all these come under Osun East Senatorial District. It has a voters strength of about 320,000 registered voters. Ife central & Ife East make up 60% of the votes, so whoever wins Ile-Ife town wins the seat.
So, why are Osun APC leaders negotiating with Omisore right now? A big player in the party gave a short answer. He says the reason is obvious. The August 15, 2026 governorship election is 4 months away. APC needs Ife votes badly to beat Adeleke and Omisore controls Ife votes.
Omisore is still bitter about how he was treated by the APC screening panel which disqualified him and 6 other aspirants. Only Bola Oyebamiji was cleared. Omisore accused Oyetola of masterminding it. Oyetola promptly denied the allegation.
Reconciliation process began after that. According to an insider, the APC needs to negotiate with Omisore now to be on the safe side. What will Omisore get from the negotiation? The first is Relevance. He can control Ife delegates for Tinubu in 2027. The 2nd is a possible senatorial ticket if he delivers Ife for Oyebamiji in August 2026, APC can give him Osun East Senate ticket in 2027. The 3rd is it will help bouy his Kingmaker status. It will help maintain his position.
What will APC gain? It will help strengthen APC’s hold in Ife. APC will have a United Ife APC. APC can also achieve Youth mobilisation. It will be easier for them to get Omisore to order a door to door campaign, avoid Violence, and stop anti-party activity.
It will also help APC to win the August 15 election. With APC control of Ife, Ijesa and Oyetola’s Iragbiji, APC thinks they can beat Adeleke’s Ede and Osogbo.
Osun APC leaders are afraid that if Omisore is not sufficiently pacified, his non-commitment might be a plus for Adeleke.
So insiders believer that Osun APC is negotiating because of Omisore’s relevance in the scheme of things in Osun East.
Omisore is the bridge between the 3 APC kingmakers-Akande, Omisore & Oyetola. The 20th April 2026 meeting helped the 3 of them to close ranks to secure APC’s victory. According to a party chieftain, they all sat down to talk because of the realisation that only a united front can return Osun to APC.
The news coming out of Osun suggests that many APC leaders in Osun are fully not committed to supporting Oyebamiji. Apart from Omisore, Senator Babajide Omoworare, and Akin Ogunbiyi expressed strong dissatisfaction after their disqualification from the December 2025 governorship primary by the screening committee for not meeting nomination criteria. Many of these leaders feel the current candidate does not align with their political leaning. The main story now is that many disqualified aspirants are unhappy and some are even planning to work with the opposition.
A few months ago, party leaders in the state, including former Deputy Governor Benedict Olugboyega Alabi, Dotun Babayemi, Akin Ogunbiyi, Senator Babajide Omoworare, Kunle Adegoke (SAN), Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, and party officials like Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda (APC National Chairman) and Senator George Akume, met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
During the meeting, the president advised them to allow incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke to secure a second term. He emphasised that with Adeleke in office, he can have a supporter to fund his election, unlike if any of them contested, which he believed would be more difficult for him. The President also assured them that the governor was willing to join their party. Reports indicate that a few months earlier, former Governor Oyetola and the APC leadership in Osun State had blocked Adeleke’s attempts to defect from the PDP to the APC, before he ultimately switched to the Accord Party. It is also said that Oyetola was the one who endorsed Ambo as his preferred candidate, leading to dissatisfaction among APC leaders.,
Additionally, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, revealed in a video that President Tinubu told APC leaders he did not expect a candidate to beat Adeleke, explaining that Adeleke could fund his own campaigns and make elections smoother. Nevertheless, the G-5 APC lawmakers dismissed these claims of endorsement.
A widely circulated video, discussed by observers, shows Ogunbiyi stating that President Tinubu commented on the strength of Adeleke’s administration, which sparked reactions within the APC.
A few months ago, political analyst, Adedamola Adeoye accused Oyetola of nepotism and favouritism.
Adeoye stated that Oyetola’s leadership had alienated key cabinet members and fractured internal unity; of 40 cabinet members under Oyetola, fewer than ten remain politically aligned with him.
Your tenure was characterised by favoritism and exclusion,” he wrote, ‘ You were never a unifier. The brightest in your team are not following your preferred line. You are not excellent at all.”
The open letter also cited alleged violent incidents linked to Oyebamiji’s supporters during recent political engagements across the state. Adeoye alleged that some campaign activities under the “AMBO” group led to clashes in areas such as Gbongan, Isokan, and Irewole, with several party members reportedly injured. “The same day Oyebamiji’s thugs fought in the Isokan Local Government boundary with Irewole, they also clashed in Gbongan, leaving many injured,” Adeoye wrote, accusing Oyetola of turning a blind eye to the growing crisis. He further criticized Oyetola’s decision to allow Oyebamiji’s use of the IleriOluwa House, previously associated with his own 2018 campaign, as a base for political mobilization. Adeoye described the move as “a betrayal of leadership neutrality” within the APC. These are some of the reasons why some prominent political figures in the state notably Omisore are determined to work against their party. In fact, it is said that the body language of Mr. President does not want any candidate from the APC to go into the election against the incumbent Governor Adeleke who has openly supported and endorsed his 2027 2nd term bid.
Isaac Abimbade
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