Fresh crisis hits Ondo APC over alleged election fund control plan

By Boye Oyeyemi

Fresh tension has hit the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress as some National Assembly candidates accused Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of allegedly setting up a secret committee to manage funds expected from the party’s national leadership for the 2027 elections.

The candidates alleged that the purported committee was created to oversee the disbursement of election funds and comprised the state Commissioner for Finance, Omowunmi Isaac; Commissioner for Infrastructure, Lands and Housing, Ayorinde Olawoye; the governor’s younger brother, William Aiyedatiwa; his Chief of Protocol, Abayomi Olasanya; and Banjo Ayodele.

The development has reportedly unsettled several APC candidates, particularly those contesting senatorial and House of Representatives seats, who expressed concern over the alleged arrangement and its possible impact on the party’s candidates in the forthcoming elections.

However, the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Engagement, Steve Otaloro, dismissed the allegation, describing it as a rumour allegedly being circulated by individuals seeking to create division within the ruling party.

Otaloro said, “The report is untrue and should be regarded as nothing more than a rumour being deliberately propagated by individuals who are obviously working against the interest of the APC and seeking to create division within the party ahead of the forthcoming general elections.”

A source within the party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, however, claimed that details of the alleged committee had reached some APC candidates, who feared that election funds could be diverted to support politicians contesting against them on the platforms of other parties.

The controversy comes amid existing allegations of anti-party activities against Aiyedatiwa. Some party members have accused the governor of backing politicians who lost APC primaries and later emerged as candidates of opposition parties, including Mathew Oyerinmade, Idowu Mafimisebi and Tajudeen Akinfisoye.

Aiyedatiwa has repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting that he has no involvement in anti-party activities. The governor said, “I have zero tolerance for anti-party activities. I have never engaged in anti-party in my life,” while describing his accusers as “naysayers, blackmailers and slanderers.”