A fresh crisis may be brewing within the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State as stakeholders and aspirants in the party rejected alleged plans to adopt consensus candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The development comes as the party is set to hold a meeting today with House of Representatives and House of Assembly aspirants at the APC state secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan.
The state Publicity Secretary, Wale Sadare, confirmed the meeting in a telephone interview on Wednesday, saying members of the state executive council and other critical stakeholders would be in attendance.
“Yes, there will be a meeting tomorrow, but only for House of Representatives and House of Assembly aspirants. The meeting with the governorship aspirants will be held later,” he said.
The meeting follows a recent visit by the state APC chairman, Chief Moses Adeyemo, and some aspirants to the party’s National Chairman in Abuja.
Although the purpose of the Abuja meeting was not officially disclosed, sources within the party said it was connected to moves to adopt consensus candidates ahead of the elections.
However, some stakeholders and aspirants have vowed to resist any attempt to replace direct primaries with consensus arrangements.
In a statement issued in Ibadan on Wednesday by Bamidele Atiba, the group warned the party leadership against actions capable of deepening divisions within the APC and weakening its chances in future elections.
Atiba maintained that the Electoral Act and party guidelines support direct primaries where consensus fails, adding that President Bola Tinubu had also backed such a process.
Describing the Abuja meeting as “a show of shame,” he said the gathering did not reflect the interests of the majority of aspirants in the state.
“We will attend tomorrow’s meeting called by the chairman, but he should never talk about the adoption of consensus,” Atiba said.
“We will vehemently reject any attempt to truncate direct primaries in picking the party’s governorship candidate.
“Forcing all 2027 aspirants into a consensus arrangement would be rejected at the meeting. We stand for direct primaries and internal democracy within the party.”