The All Progressives Congress in Ogun State is facing a deepening internal crisis after its ward and local government congresses on Saturday dissolved into chaos, with three separate factions allegedly conducting parallel exercises and submitting conflicting results a development that has thrown the party’s structure into serious doubt ahead of the 2027 elections.
Sources familiar with the situation told this reporter that aspirants linked to the three dominant camps within the party, those loyal to Governor Dapo Abiodun, former governor Gbenga Daniel, and ex-governor Ibikunle Amosun, are now in a state of uncertainty as multiple lists from the exercises circulate, each claiming legitimacy. Elder statesman Olusegun Osoba has largely kept his distance from the brewing storm.
While Abiodun’s faction reportedly held on to ward and local government executives in areas under his influence, the Daniel and Amosun blocs went ahead with their own separate congresses, compiling independent lists which they submitted to the congress committee chairman, Mr. Wale Ohu.
Ohu flatly denied receiving more than one set of results. “As far as APC in Ogun State is concerned, there is one APC and there is one congress,” he said. “We only recognised the congresses held in the approved venues.” He added that he was headed to Abuja to submit a single list, dismissing reports of alternative submissions.
Despite this denial, credible party sources said the Amosun group had already filed a petition at APC’s national secretariat in Abuja, accusing the Abiodun camp of marginalising their members. The Daniel bloc was similarly said to have lodged a formal complaint over how the congresses were conducted.
“The pendulum is swinging right and left,” one senior party member said under the condition of anonymity. “Abuja may shock many people.”
The tension was not confined to paperwork. In Ado-Odo/Ota, supporters of the governor reportedly clashed with loyalists of Senator Adeola Olamilekan, widely known as Yayi. A video obtained by this newspaper showed men allegedly attacking a group led by House of Representatives member Tunji Akinosi, believed to be in the governor’s camp, though it could not be independently confirmed whether the assailants were aligned with Yayi.
A party chieftain in Remo North, reportedly a gubernatorial aide, was also said to have been physically attacked during the exercise.
In Sagamu, two figures within the Abiodun camp — lawmaker Adesola Ayoola-Elegbeji and Commissioner for Special Duties Mrs. Funmi Efuwape, appeared to be working at cross-purposes, with each organising rival rallies in the same area on the same day.
Political observers attributed much of the chaos in Ado-Odo/Ota to a long-running power struggle between a faction allegedly tied to Deputy Governor Noimot Salako-Oyedele and another loyal to Yayi.
The congress crisis is widely interpreted as an early skirmish in the battle for the governorship, with at least 13 individuals said to be positioning themselves for the seat. Yayi is reportedly seeking Abiodun’s endorsement, but insiders suggest the governor may favour another lawmaker, Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, instead.
Abiodun himself is believed to have his eye on the Ogun East senatorial seat currently held by Daniel, a move observers say could further scramble the political calculations within the party.
Adding another layer to the intrigue, Communications Minister Bosun Tijani was reportedly issued membership number “001” in Yewa North ahead of Yayi, who hails from the same area and is also said to have been simultaneously registered to a ward in Abuja. Party insiders described the development as “symbolic and politically loaded.”
The sudden declaration of Iyabo Obasanjo as a governorship aspirant has also reportedly reshuffled the deck. Sources claimed her Egba background and political standing have drawn serious attention at the Presidency, with some insisting her entrance into the race “has changed the equation, especially with talks about breaking the jinx of women marginalisation.”
Names such as Ambassador Sarafa Isola, former CBN Deputy Governor Tunde Lemo, and ex-House Speaker Dimeji Bankole are also being floated as part of what party insiders are calling an “Egba agenda” for a potential consensus.
Multiple sources indicated that the Presidency is considering direct intervention to prevent the situation from spiralling further out of control. “The idea is to harmonise the lists and produce consensus executives across all 40 positions,” one senior party figure said.
However, sources close to the governor see such a move as a threat. “Harmonisation could dilute his grip on the structure,” an insider said. “That is why the move is being resisted.”
As of the time of filing this report, the APC’s national leadership had not issued any official statement on the Ogun situation. With rival petitions heading to Abuja, three competing lists in circulation, and factions firmly entrenched, the struggle for control of the party in Ogun State is far from resolved — and the final verdict may ultimately be delivered far beyond the state’s borders.
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