Aggrieved Oyo APC governorship aspirants reconcile with Alli, reaffirm support for Tinubu

By Adejayan Gbenga

Four aggrieved governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State have reconciled with the party’s governorship candidate, Sen. Sharafadeen Alli, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The aspirants are former Oyo State Deputy Governor Rauf Aderemi Olaniyan, Oyedele Hakeem Alao, Prince Musbau Asatola Asanike and Dr. Ololade Usman Bakare.

The reconciliation followed a series of engagements by the APC Governorship Aspirants’ Reconciliation Committee, which was established to address grievances arising from the party’s governorship primary.

The committee Chairman, Sen. Olufemi Lanlehin, disclosed this during a press conference in Ibadan, saying some of the 11 aspirants who participated in the primary had raised concerns about the conduct and outcome of the exercise.

Lanlehin said the committee listened to the concerns and found that the party had more issues capable of uniting its members than dividing them, adding that the four aspirants had agreed to put the primary contest behind them and work with Alli for the party’s success in 2027.

He described the development as a victory for collective interest over individual ambition and unity over factionalism, stressing that the APC needed a united political structure to defeat its opponents.

Meanwhile, the four aspirants, in a communique issued after the reconciliation meetings, pledged their support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Alli and other APC candidates in the 2027 elections, while agreeing to cooperate with the party and its campaign structures to secure victory.

The committee said its engagement with the APC “G6” governorship aspirants had been concluded except for Barrister Akeem Agbaje, while the four reconciled aspirants expressed their intention to meet with Tinubu at a mutually convenient time to reaffirm their support for his 2027 presidential bid.