Osun State APC in turmoil: Integrity Group alleges plot by Oyetola loyalists

Stanley Ihedigbo

Tensions are rising within Osun State’s All Progressive Congress (APC) as the Osun Integrity Group claims that loyalists of Governor Gboyega Oyetola have orchestrated the disqualification of party members, triggering a fresh crisis in the ruling party.

In a strongly worded press statement dated Saturday, 6 December 2025, the group accused senior party figures of coordinating a “premeditated and unscrupulous” disqualification process – one they say the aspirants only discovered after the APC published the list on its website and, rather curiously, had it amplified through The Punc newspaper.

According to the group, the seven aspirants have not been formally notified by the party, despite being publicly labelled as disqualified.

They described this as a “shocking affront to discipline, dignity and due process.”

The Osun State Integrity Support Group claimed the disqualification was the handiwork of “unpatriotic elements” within the APC National Working Committee – individuals said to be acting on the directives of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Isiaka Oyetola.

The group alleged that Oyetola is determined to impose his preferred aspirant Mr. Munirudeen Bola Oyebanji, current Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), as the party’s governorship candidate for the August 2026 polls.

Citing insider accounts from the APC National Secretariat, the group claims certain officials have “mortgaged their conscience for rewards,” adding that Oyetola’s team has even gone as far as “dropping the innocent name” of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to give their scheme a veneer of legitimacy.

The statement says such behaviour “embarrasses the President” and amounts to reckless impersonation.

The Integrity Group accused Oyetola’s alleged loyalists of setting up an Appeal Panel whose venue remains undisclosed as of Friday, 5 December 2025.

The seven aspirants, according to the statement, have received no formal letters inviting them to appear before the panel  a tactic the group believes is designed to engineer a later claim that the aspirants “failed to show up.”

This, they argue, is part of a broader strategy to destabilise and demoralise them, thereby clearing the political runway for the NIWA MD.

The group also turned attention to alleged irregularities in the APC’s Screening Committee.

The chairman, Chief Obinna Uzor, was accused of falsifying signatures of Ambassador Usman Bayara and other committee members in order to present a minority report as the official outcome of the screening conducted on 3 and 4 December.

Ambassador Bayara and four others have reportedly distanced themselves from the “illegal document,” insisting they will not participate in any manipulation of justice.

The Integrity Group disclosed that the majority report, which contradicts the purported disqualification, will be submitted first to President Tinubu before release to the public.

The group stated emphatically that Mr Munirudeen Bola Oyebanji has not resigned as NIWA MD as of Saturday, 6 December 2025 – a violation of the Constitution, APC rules and the Electoral Act.

They further alleged that Oyetola intends to orchestrate a backdated resignation letter “to manufacture legality where none exists,” should the issue be challenged.

Officials named in the alleged scheme include the APC National Secretary, Mr Suraj Ajibola; National Organising Secretary, Alhaji Suleiman Argungu; and Deputy National Organising Secretary, Nze Chidi Duru – none of whom has publicly refuted the claims.

The Osun State Integrity Support Group – representing the seven disqualified aspirants – appealed directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene through a presidential proclamation that compels transparency, fairness and equity in the process.

They also asked the President to bar the NIWA MD from contesting the primaries due to the alleged violation of electoral stipulations.

The statement was signed by Dr Gbenga Adekunle, Convener of the Osun State APC Integrity Support Group, Oshogbo, for and on behalf of the seven aspirants.

As tensions rise, the political fissures within the Osun APC threaten to widen, casting a long shadow over the party’s unity ahead of the 2026 governorship election.