The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has set up a 168-member presidential and parliamentary campaign council to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election and other APC candidates in the 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by the state APC chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, and obtained in Osogbo on Monday, the party said the council was formed to strengthen its chances at the polls.Bola Oyebamiji, the APC’s candidate in the August 15 governorship election, was named Director-General of the council.
Lawal will serve as Deputy Director-General, while Oyebamiji’s running mate, Benjamin Adereti, and Kehinde Olamolu will act as Assistant Directors-General 1 and 2 respectively.The three APC senatorial candidates and the nine House of Representatives candidates in the state are also members of the council.
Other members include former Speaker of the House of Representatives Foluke Etteh, four former deputy governors — Adeleke Adewoyin, Iyiola Omisore, Titi Laoye-Ponnle and Adegboyega Alabi — retired General Alani Akinrinade, Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa Femi Fani-Kayode, and the party’s spokesperson Kola Olabisi.
Lawal said the council was established following the inauguration of the national APC Presidential Campaign Council by President Tinubu on October 14 and the subsequent inauguration of an Osun State PCC by Governor Ademola Adeleke on October 22. He described the new body as necessary to bolster efforts aimed at securing a decisive victory for the President and the party’s National and State Assembly candidates.
The formation of the parallel council comes after Adeleke inaugurated the official state campaign council, a move that generated controversy within the APC and the Accord Party in Osun. Adeleke was named coordinator of the Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council, but key figures including former governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Oyebamiji, Lawal and other prominent party leaders were absent from the event.
Lawal had earlier complained that the state party leadership was not consulted in the composition of Adeleke’s council. At the inauguration, the governor stated that he would work solely for Tinubu’s re-election and ruled out any agreement to support APC legislative candidates in the state.
Meanwhile, former governor Oyetola has called for unity among political interests in Osun ahead of the 2027 elections, expressing confidence that Tinubu could secure as many as 1.5 million votes in the state.