2027: APC Clarifies Oyebamiji’s Role In Osun Campaign Council

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has clarified that the 110-member campaign council headed by its 2026 governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, was established to coordinate campaigns for the party’s National Assembly and state House of Assembly candidates, not as a parallel presidential campaign structure.

The party said the committee, with Oyebamiji as Director-General, was separate from the presidential campaign council inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu, which has Governor Ademola Adeleke as its Osun State Coordinator.

The clarification followed reports surrounding the composition of the Oyebamiji-led campaign council, particularly the omission of some members of the party’s State Executive Committee from the list.

In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, the APC dismissed suggestions that the committee was intended to undermine the presidential campaign structure.

The party maintained that it had no reason to establish a parallel presidential campaign council, given Adeleke’s appointment and his declared commitment to mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election.

According to the statement, “Nothing could have warranted our party to inaugurate a parallel presidential election campaign committee when it is in the public domain that Governor Adeleke, who has offered to work with other political parties in the state to garner over 1.5 million votes for President Tinubu in the forthcoming presidential election, has been appointed the campaign committee coordinator for the important exercise.”

The APC said it remained appreciative of the governor’s willingness to lead the presidential re-election campaign in the state, adding that the party was prepared to work with him towards achieving the target.

“We have said it times without number that we are grateful to Governor Adeleke for his demonstrated resolve to lead the campaign for our presidential candidate and that we are ready and willing as a party to work with him,” the statement added.

It cited the recent political gathering at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo, as evidence of its readiness to collaborate with the governor for Tinubu’s electoral success.

The party also appealed to individuals it accused of attempting to create discord within its ranks to desist from actions capable of undermining what it described as a growing political alliance.

“Our appeal is to the agents of evil machination to desist from trying to bring rancour, division and disunity to the rainbow coalition, which is evidently yielding bountiful results,” it said.

Reaffirming Oyebamiji’s role, the APC stressed that he remained the Director-General of its parliamentary campaign organisation and was also supporting efforts to secure more than 1.5 million votes for Tinubu in Osun State.

The party further acknowledged concerns raised by some members of its State Executive Committee over their exclusion from the campaign council list circulated on social media on Tuesday.

It said only four out of the 35 State Executive Committee members were reportedly included in the list, adding that the concerns expressed by the affected officials showed their willingness to participate actively in the campaign organisation.

The APC, however, maintained that the Oyebamiji-led committee was strictly a parliamentary campaign structure and should not be misconstrued as a rival to the presidential campaign arrangement in the state.