As the political drumbeat for the upcoming general election reverberates across the southwestern geopolitical landscape, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State is leaving nothing to chance. Recognising, with clinical precision, that a house divided against itself cannot withstand the fierce pressures of an electoral contest, the party’s leadership has embarked on a rigorous, multi-layered reconciliation drive.
This deliberate push is designed to heal the post-primary wounds that recently threatened to fracture its foundational structure from the grassroots to the state executive level.
With strategic interventions spearheaded locally by veteran political actors and elevated seamlessly to the highest corridors of power in Abuja, the ruling party at the centre is methodically stitching together its frayed alliances.
The ultimate objective is clear and non-negotiable: transform the Pacesetter state into a formidable, unified political fortress capable of delivering a sweeping, block-vote victory for President Bola Tinubu and reclaiming the Agodi Government House after years out of power.
Healing the primary rifts: state-level reconciliation efforts
The intense political turbulence that routinely follows internal party primaries is no stranger to major political platforms, and the Oyo State chapter of the APC was no exception. Following the emergence of Senator Sharafadeen Alli as the party’s gubernatorial flagbearer, ripples of discontent, bruised egos, and open expressions of dissatisfaction emerged among a section of the eleven aspirants who had aggressively vied for the ticket.
To arrest any potential institutional implosion that could jeopardise its electoral fortunes, the state leadership swung into action by establishing the Governorship Aspirants’ Reconciliation Committee. Chaired by the veteran politician, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, and co-chaired by Professor Taoheed Adedoja, the committee set out with a clear, unambiguous mandate: to listen to grievances, validate genuine concerns, and remind all stakeholders that individual political ambitions must ultimately bow to the party’s collective destiny and supremacy.
The localised peace shuttle led to significant, tangible breakthroughs when the committee brought key stakeholders together in one room. Prominent figures, including a former deputy governor, Rauf Olaniyan, alongside other influential aspirants such as Oyedele Hakeem Alao, Prince Musbau Asatola Asanike, and Dr Ololade Usman Bakare, agreed to sheathe their swords.
By pledging to put the primary contest behind them and to throw their weight behind Senator Sharafadeen Alli, these leaders demonstrated that the party’s internal dispute-resolution mechanisms could still successfully prioritise party victory over factional friction.
Moving the battle to Abuja
Realising that localised reconciliation required top-tier institutional backing to achieve absolute stability and enduring peace, the peace train moved swiftly from the portal level to the national stage. The National Chairman of the APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, undertook a multi-day visit to Ibadan to meet directly with aggrieved stakeholders and traditional institutions.
Courtesy calls on the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, and the broader party machinery highlighted the visit to the state.
He said, ‘We are a family, and it’s a family issue. And it’s normal for children in the same family to have a few challenges, but it’s issues that can be settled within the party.
‘And we are happy that the party is still stable; the party is still good. And from our discussions with the party members, they are prepared to work with us so we can succeed. So, we are good.’
On the reconciliation of aggrieved members in the APC ahead of 2027, the chairman said it is a process and not a one-day affair, assuring that it is ongoing.
The Nation reports that the aggrieved governorship aspirants under the aegis of G6, including Rauf Olaniyan, Akeem Agbaje, Prince Musbau Asatola, Hakeem Alao, Dr Usman Bakare, among others, were not sighted at the meeting. Still, it could not be confirmed if they were invited.
Party accepts the blame
In an unprecedented display of political accountability and leadership maturity at the official launch of the APC Campaign Office along the Mokola-UCH road, Prof. Yilwatda took direct responsibility for the friction and grievances arising from the primary.
Flanked by key members of the National Working Committee (NWC), he offered a public, televised apology on behalf of the national leadership to anyone who felt hurt, injured, or excluded during the candidate selection process.
Yilwatda said, ‘This is not for Oyo State alone. Anywhere anybody makes a mistake in a state, it is our mistake because we set up the committee and they represent us.
‘If anybody is hurt, if anybody is injured, if anybody is prevented or excluded in any form or the other, we take responsibility. On TV, before Nigerians, we take responsibility for all that has happened. I appeal to everybody that we are sorry.’
This rare act of institutional humility resonated deeply across the political landscape, bridging the historical gap between grassroots party members and national arbiters.
Furthermore, President Bola Tinubu waded directly into the complex crisis, convening high-level strategic meetings in Abuja with critical party stalwarts, including former Senate Leader Teslim Folarin, Senator Ayo Adeseun, Ambassador Florence Ajimobi, and Alhaji Fatai Ibikunle, to solidify the overarching peace architecture.
Lessons from Osun
Behind the aggressive, systematic reconciliation drive in Oyo lies a sobering, highly instructive political reality: the recent outcome of the gubernatorial election in neighbouring Osun state, where the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, secured victory. While the APC national leadership maintained that the party put up a spirited, respectable fight against the formidable machinery and incumbency advantage of the state government, local strategists extracted a profound and unyielding lesson from the exercise.
As Senator Lanlehin aptly noted during committee briefings, the primary takeaway from the Osun experience is that nothing beats internal cohesion, and a major political party can ill afford to take anything for granted. The lesson is simple yet stark-fragmented votes, lingering voter apathy, and unresolved internal grumblings provide easy, unobstructed pathways for opposition victories.
Lanlehin said, ‘Nothing beats unity. Nothing beats working together. Nothing beats the strength of the party as expressed by all its members. What we have learned is that you don’t take anything for granted. It’s better to have more of something than less of it.
‘We have started the reconciliation process, and each day we will continue to have more success. Although the committee might wrap up its assignments at any time, we keep working on election day. We are calling on our leaders, stakeholders, and aspirants: only together can we find strength and victory.
‘We’ve been out of government; this party has been out of government for eight years, and I assure you that members of this party don’t want to be out of government any extra day. I assure you that we will succeed. APC will be in government in this state.
‘The APC will win the three central districts, the APC will win the 14 federal constituencies, and the 32 House of Assembly seats will also be won by the party. Watch us, see us; we assure you.’
For the Oyo APC, which has spent years out of executive government in the state, the Osun outcome serves as a timely and urgent wake-up call. It reinforces the hard truth that political arithmetic relies heavily on synergy and multiplication rather than division. Relying solely on a candidate’s immediate primary supporters is a recipe for electoral miscalculation; only a fully unified political family can successfully navigate the complexities, rigours, and uncertainties of a modern general election.
Internal democracy and
transparency
Independent political observers, civil society watchdogs, and internal party analysts monitoring the fallout from the Oyo APC primary have consistently put forward critical recommendations to ensure long-term stability. Our top priority is to institutionalise absolute transparency, deepen internal party democracy, and establish permanent conflict-resolution frameworks that don’t just react to election cycles.
However, in what could be described as a response to the recommendations, the Oyo APC leadership and the national body have begun implementing what was described as structural adjustments:
Rather than treating reconciliation as a temporary post-primary fire-brigade measure, the party is moving to establish permanent consultative forums where aspirants at all levels-local government, state assembly, national assembly, and governorship-have structured avenues to air grievances well in advance.
Observers noted that top-heavy negotiations often leave grassroots stakeholders feeling alienated. Alongside the recommendations, local chapter executives are empowered to handle ward-level disputes directly, so lower-cadre grievances are resolved before they escalate into major factionalism.
Enhancing transparency in candidate selection: By acknowledging observers’ warnings about perceived irregularities during internal contests, the national leadership’s public apology and assumption of responsibility show a deliberate shift toward transparent, consensus-building structures that protect the party’s collective integrity.
By addressing these independent recommendations, the Oyo APC will show it is willing to evolve and recognise that structural reform is just as important as winning political support.
What are the likely implications of non-alignment for dissident members? We’ve extended the olive branch across political divides, and the party leadership has made it clear that discipline remains a core, non-negotiable pillar of its broader repositioning strategy. Our ongoing peace efforts are designed to be radically inclusive, leaving the door open to every concerned member through platforms such as the Senator Lanlehin-led Reconciliation Committee and parallel legislative panels.
However, observers believe that stakeholders who choose to remain outside the reconciled group may face significant and costly implications.
In modern competitive politics, prolonged recalcitrance and isolation cut political actors off from the mainstream momentum, drastically diminishing their bargaining power, political relevance, and influence in future power-sharing arrangements.
As the national leadership presses forward with aggressive grassroots mobilisation-leveraging federal economic reforms such as targeted tax exemptions for basic food, education, healthcare, and housing, alongside massive infrastructure projects like the ongoing concrete-paved Lagos-Ibadan expressway and the Ibadan-Ilorin road network-the party train is moving at breakneck speed.
Those who don’t align with the current reconciliation wave risk losing their grip on the party’s structural evolution in Oyo State and may find themselves politically isolated.
Ultimately, the resonant message echoing from the streets of Ibadan to the chambers of Abuja remains unwavering: from contest to reconciliation, from reconciliation to unity, and from unity to absolute electoral victory in 2027.