Former Senate Leader and 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Teslim Folarin, on Thursday held a closed-door meeting with other prominent party leaders amid the crisis trailing the APC primaries in the state.
Those at the meeting included a former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu; the senator representing Oyo North, Abdulfatai Buhari; and a former deputy governor of the state, Raufu Olaniyan.
The meeting, convened by Folarin, focused on the future of the party and strategies to strengthen its structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.
A party stalwart familiar with the discussions told The PUNCH that the leaders considered ways of working with other APC stakeholders to resolve internal disagreements and deliver Oyo State for President Bola Tinubu in the presidential election.
“The leaders discussed strategies for working with other stakeholders of the APC to strengthen the party’s structure and deliver Oyo for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election,” the source said.
Folarin had stayed away from recent APC meetings in the state following the emergence of the senator representing Oyo South, Sharafadeen Alli, as the party’s governorship candidate.
Adelabu, Buhari and Olaniyan also lost out in the primaries that produced Alli and had alleged that the exercise was marred by irregularities.
Their meeting came amid protests by different groups over the emergence of some candidates for elective positions on the APC platform.
Supporters loyal to Adelabu continued their protest at the party’s state secretariat on Thursday, demanding that the APC national leadership publicly release the results of the primaries.
The protesters maintained that making the results public would address questions surrounding the process and restore confidence among party members.
The disagreements arising from the primaries prompted the APC leadership in Oyo State to establish a reconciliation committee jointly led by former senator Femi Lanlehin and Prof Taoreed Adedoja.
Speaking during the committee’s inauguration, Lanlehin and Adedoja assured aggrieved members that their complaints would be examined and addressed.
They said resolving the disputes was necessary to place the APC in a strong position ahead of the 2027 elections.
The state party chairman, Moses Adeyemo, urged members of the committee to deploy their experience, goodwill and wisdom to settle grievances arising from recent party congresses and primaries.
Adeyemo said the objective was to ensure that the party approached the forthcoming elections as a united and formidable political family.
Other members of the reconciliation committee include Brimo Yusuf, Akin Oke, Hosea Agboola, Kemi Alao-Akala, Niran Alarape, Olagunju Ojo, Adebayo Adewusi, Timothy Jolaoso, Abu Gbadamosi, Idris Adeoye, Isiaka Alimi, Abisoye Fagade, Adekemi Opatunde, Dayo Lawal, Goke Oyetunji, Mufutau Adisa, Kamorudeen Ajisafe and Mabel Williams.
