Ex-OSUN Gov. OYETOLA & Sen BASHIRU At WAR!

• Over 2026 Guber Race

The forthcoming 2026 Osun State gubernatorial election is gradually gaining momentum, as top Osun politicians within the All Progressive Congress (APC) are beginning to show interest in the No.1 seat of the state. Two of the biggest politicians with the most noisy followers are the immediate governor of the state, Adegboyega Oyetola, who lost his second term bid to Governor Ademola Adeleke, and Senator Ajibola Bashiru.

Hon. Bashiru is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who is the national secretary of the ruling All Progressive Congress. He served as the senator representing Osun Central Senatorial District from 2019 to 2023. He was appointed last year as the APC National Secretary. The big news is that, he’s also eyeing the No1 seat in 2026 along side his close friend and ‘brother’, Adegboyega Oyetola and the preparation is underway.

There have been rumours of ‘war’ between these two prominent politicians over who will be the flag bearer of the APC at the guber election in 2026.

A few weeks back, one of the political groups in Osun said Oyetola should not try to rum for the governorship again. According to the members of the group named ‘Otoge,’ Mr. Oyetola who is currently said to be testing the waters ahead of the next election will further jeopardise the chances of the party to return to power in the state.

The group recommended the selection of either the National Secretary of the APC, Dr. Ajibola Basiru or  Chief Tunde Badmus as candidates ahead of the 2026 contest. One of the reasons why Hon. Basiru was picked is because he’s from Osogbo, the state capital, which has not produced a Governor since the inception of the state over three decades ago. We also gathered from a reliable source that, this group called Otoge is so powerful and has the capacity to decide whoever will emerge as party candidate for 2026 election.

One of the members who was quoted recently said “We are calling for urgent intervention before the minister destroys the party further in Osun. We have told him to allow new faces to run for governorship but he is refusing. We told him severally that Adeleke is too popular and that the party cannot move an inch with an Oyetola as a candidate but he is adamant. “Our proposal is to have Ajibola Bashiru. He went and threatened the National Secretary. Many loyalists of Bashiru are now up in arms against the Minister. “ Lately, we told him to let us use Engr Badmus as a candidate, at least that is a man from his camp. We even think he will respect Chief Tunde Badmus. Again, he refused.

“Worst of all, the man has not mended fences with anybody. The PDP group he was hoping to align with are now reconciling. Oyinlola and others have said No, they are staying with Ademola. This man should allow the APC in Osun to move on”, the party chief noted.

Another party chieftain who also attended the meeting stressed that Oyetola’s candidacy will be the second greatest mistake the party will make, pointing out that all factors that made the party to fail in 2022 are still present in stronger terms. “ Our party is weaker than it was in 2022. The level of disenchantment within the party is very high. The source is Oyetola himself. He is too selfish and his wife’s influence on him is too high.The man cares only about himself and his family.

“Our leaders at the Presidency are aware of all these. That is why we formed Otoge as a group. We will resist Oyetola. We want either Bashiru or Badmus as governorship candidates, not Oyetola. We are writing the Presidency officially”, the politician noted.

With some of these developments, City People also spoke with some of the allies of ex-governor who is the current Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola and they were unperturbed about the rumour news circulating on the social media. They believe Hon Oyetola has all it takes to clinch the party ticket. They believe that, as the leader of the party in Osun, he would be favoured to run again come 2026.

Meanwhile, some members of APC who are strong allies of Oyetola have gone spiritual over the coming  2026 guber election. These members of All Progressives Congress (APC) have resorted to spiritual activities on behalf of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola.

It was learnt that the concerned loyalists were disturbed about the continuous unpopularity of Oyetola and the way people have been rejecting his choice for the 2026 governorship election. This is just as some APC members organised a special victory prayer for Oyetola for him to secure the ticket of the party and win the governorship election.

The prayer was organised by Osun Non-Returned Caretaker Councillors, a political group within the state APC, in Osogbo, Osun State. A few months ago, The National Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Basiru said that he is not going to step down his ambition to run for Governorship in Osun come 2026 to anybody, sources has revealed.

Speaking on who is likely to clinch the party’s ticket, the source noted that forces within the party in the state are aligning with Ajibola Basiru while former Governor Gboyega Oyetola is relying on federal might and being a serving minister and a one time Governor.

Senator Basiru’s political journey began with his affiliation with the Alliance for Democracy (AD), which later transformed into the Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and eventually the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He served as a commissioner during the administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, where he held key positions, including Honorable Commissioner of Regional Integration and Special Duties, and later Honorable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice for Osun State.

In 2019, Senator Basiru’s commitment and dedication to public service led him to represent Osun Central Senatorial District as a member of the All Progressive Congress (APC). He made significant contributions as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Diaspora, Non-Governmental Organisations, and Civil Societies. He was later appointed as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs (Senate Spokesperson)

–Isaac Abimbade

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