South-West ADC leaders call for Aregbesola’s suspension over alleged sabotage

A group within the African Democratic Congress (ADC), known as the South-West Stakeholders, has called for the immediate suspension of the party’s national secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, over alleged anti-party activities and actions said to be undermining the party’s structures in the region.

In a statement jointly signed and issued on Friday by six party stakeholders across the South-West, the group accused Aregbesola of working against the interests of the ADC, alleging that he was acting more as an ally of President Bola Tinubu than as a national officer of the opposition party.

The stakeholders alleged that Aregbesola colluded with some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to manipulate the party’s nomination process on July 14, 2026, by substituting candidates who emerged through INEC-monitored primaries with members of his Omoluabi Progressive group.

They also accused him of misleading the party’s national leadership during membership registration, facilitating the printing of physical registration materials contrary to the Electoral Act 2026, and setting up parallel primary election committees across the South-West without authorisation from the national organising secretary.

The group further alleged that Aregbesola held unconstitutional meetings through his splinter group, bypassing established party structures, and denied some members access to nomination forms while making them available to his associates. It also accused him of handpicking his preferred candidates during the governorship primaries in Ekiti and Osun states.

Citing the outcomes of the two governorship elections, the stakeholders said the ADC secured 12,872 votes, representing 3.4 per cent of valid votes cast in Ekiti on June 20, 2026, while it polled 17,180 votes, representing 1.7 per cent, in Osun on August 15, 2026.

The group also alleged that Aregbesola had personalised the functions of the National Working Committee and was using his position to regain lost political relevance in Osun and Lagos states. It further linked him to former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, whom it accused of supporting President Tinubu’s second-term ambition.

“The South-West leadership and stakeholders call on the national leadership of the party to immediately suspend Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary forthwith. The greatest priority of the South-West caucus is to form a formidable and united platform that can deliver the region for the ADC in the 2027 general elections,” the group said.

The statement was signed by Felix Ogunwale, ADC South-West chief special adviser; Yinka Olona, head of directorates; Olufemi Soluade, Ogun State chairman; Abideen Okandeji, Osun State chairman; Ilesanmi Omolayo, Ekiti State chairman; and Wole Ademoyegun, Ondo State chairman.