The immediate past National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has said his chances of clinching the governorship ticket of the party remain very high.
Osun State will go to the polls by August 8, 2026, to elect a governor, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, in the timetable it recently released, fixed the conduct of the parties’ governorship primaries for between November 24 and December 15, 2025.
Declaring his intention to vie for the APC ticket ahead of the primary in Osogbo on Tuesday, Omisore, who had previously served as Osun state deputy governor in the administration of Chief Bisi Akande, said more than 90 per cent of the members would back his ambition.
A former lawmaker, who represented Osun East in the Senate between 2003 and 2011, also said he expected mass public support for APC in the 2026 governorship poll.
He stated,
“Going forward, I am expecting Osun State people to vote for APC en masse come August 8, 2026. This is to show the preparedness of the core APC members in the state, to show how ready we are to ensure that I become the party candidate by God’s grace in December, and to further strengthen the belief of the people in the coming APC government in Osun State.
“APC’s chance in 2026 is 100 per cent. These are volunteers from the nook and cranny of the state, this is just within the party and not the public, this is an internal politics, preparing us for the forthcoming primaries in December.
“This is also to show the strength of the rescue mission to ensure that we get the party ticket by God’s grace and win the governorship election. I am optimistic, you know, if we go to the primaries today, I will win more than 90 per cent. By God’s grace, I shall emerge and deliver the APC government by next year August,” Omisore, who was flanked by notable leaders of the party, said while addressing a crowd that accompanied him to the APC State Secretariat in Osogbo.”
Asked what people should expect from him if elected governor, Omisore said people should look forward to maturity in governance, educational improvement, agricultural improvement, rural development, structural adjustment of the state, capital development, impartial policies, among others.
Already, about 12 aspirants have shown interest in the APC governorship ticket, and some of them are the current Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority, Bola Oyebamiji; ex-chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Babajide Omoworare; a lawyer and son to the immediate past Olufi of Gbongan, Dotun Babayemi.
Others are the immediate past Osun Deputy Governor, Benedict Alabi; the Chairman, Mutual Assurance Benefits, Akin Ogunbiyi; and a legal practitioner, Kunle Adegoke (SAN).
Meanwhile, as the list of aspirants for the party’s gubernatorial ticket keeps growing, supporters of the aspirants have been exchanging hot words, especially on social media, in an attempt to either sell their choice or demarket other aspirants.
However, to stem growing concerns on the likelihood of implosion ahead of its governorship primaries, the Osun APC State Working Committee, rising from its meeting on Thursday, released strict directives meant to instil discipline and ensure party cohesion.
The APC SWC, in a statement signed by the party’s spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, obtained in Osogbo on Thursday, observed with dismay that some supporters of governorship aspirants have been throwing caution to the wind through needlessly verbal attacks either on some of the party leaders, aspirants or supporters of other aspirants within the party.
“To this extent, the State Working Committee of the APC has resolved to instil discipline among the erring members by instantly outlawing any member of the executive officers of the party at all its levels be it state, senatorial, local government, ward and the reinstated local government council chairmen and councillors from involving themselves as the co-ordinator of any governorship aspirant,” the statement read partly.
