The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has discontinued its parallel presidential campaign structure and renamed its campaign council the Osun State All Progressives Congress Parliamentary Campaign Council ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The party also expanded the membership of the council from 168 to 183 to accommodate all members of its State Executive Committee following protests over the composition of the initial campaign team.
A new 183-member council was unveiled in Osogbo on Tuesday, with the APC candidate in the August 8, 2027, governorship election, Bola Oyebamiji, retaining his position as Director-General.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the development followed disagreements within the Osun APC over the emergence of separate campaign structures for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
The controversy began after the APC Presidential Campaign Council appointed Governor Ademola Adeleke, a member of the Accord Party, as the state coordinator of Tinubu’s campaign during the inauguration of the national council in Abuja on October 14, 2026.
Shortly after his appointment, Adeleke announced a 344-member campaign council comprising members of different political parties to coordinate the President’s re-election campaign in the state.
However, the Osun APC subsequently unveiled its own 168-member presidential and parliamentary campaign council, appointing Oyebamiji as Director-General and the state party chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, as Deputy Director-General.
The decision triggered protests from some members of the state executive committee, who faulted the composition of the council and demanded an immediate review.
Four party executives, including the State Publicity Secretary, Wole Adunola; Welfare Officer, Adesola Ayangbile; Assistant Organising Secretary, Rasheed Adeniji; and an ex-officio member, Abiola Ololade, expressed dissatisfaction with the list in a statement issued on Tuesday.
They accused the party leadership of excluding several members of the State Working Committee who, according to them, were supposed to be statutory members of the campaign council.
In the statement, the aggrieved executives said, “Following a careful review, we express our strong dissatisfaction with the composition of the list, which, in our view, does not adequately reflect established party guidelines, due process and the principle of inclusiveness required in constituting such an important campaign structure.
“We, therefore, reject the list in its present form.”
They further questioned why the APC had constituted another campaign structure despite the earlier presidential directive reportedly naming Adeleke as the state coordinator.
“Furthermore, the composition of the list appears inconsistent with the earlier presidential directive reportedly naming Governor Ademola Adeleke as the coordinator of the Presidential Campaign Council in Osun State,” they stated.
The executives consequently called for an immediate review of the list and consultations with relevant stakeholders, including the APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, and Adeleke.
However, in a fresh development, Ayangbile distanced herself from the statement, claiming that she was neither consulted nor involved in its preparation before her name was included among the signatories.
In a separate statement issued less than an hour after the earlier publication, she said she did not authorise the use of her name and rejected the impression that she endorsed the protest.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I wish to state categorically that I was neither consulted nor involved in the drafting, deliberation, adoption, or authorisation of the said statement,” she said.
Ayangbile also reaffirmed her loyalty to the APC and its leadership, insisting that her commitment to Tinubu’s re-election remained unquestionable.
She added that her loyalty remained with former Osun Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and the party’s governorship candidate, Oyebamiji.
Meanwhile, the newly expanded 183-member council retains Oyebamiji as Director-General, while his running mate, Benjamin Adereti, and Kehinde Olamolu will serve as Assistant Director-Generals 1 and 2, respectively.
The three APC senatorial candidates and nine House of Representatives candidates in the state were also included in the council.
Other prominent members include former Osun Governor Adebisi Akande, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola, and APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru.
Announcing the new arrangement, Lawal said the party considered it necessary to strengthen the campaign structure to secure victory for Tinubu and other APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.
He said the decision followed the inauguration of the national presidential campaign council by Tinubu in Abuja on October 14 and the subsequent inauguration of the Osun State Presidential Campaign Council by Adeleke on October 22.
Lawal stated, “As a party, we are resolute to work in unison with every member of the State Presidential Campaign Council to deliver on our mandate as we muster concerted efforts to ensure victory for all the National and State Assemblies candidates of our great party.”