Tension is quietly brewing within the Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) following a contentious proposal to zone the party’s chairmanship position to the Oke-Ogun axis of Oyo North Senatorial District.
Findings by WesternLifeNewsNG reveal that behind the façade of party unity, intense consultations and political horse-trading have dominated discussions ahead of the State Congress scheduled for Tuesday, March 3. At the heart of the disagreement is whether the chairmanship position should be ceded to Oke-Ogun as part of a broader power-balancing strategy within the party.
The current state chairman, Alhaji Olayide Moshood Abas, hails from the Ibarapa axis, and his tenure is winding down amid growing agitation for rotational equity within the party structure.
At a crucial stakeholders’ meeting held Sunday at the party’s secretariat in Oke Ado, Ibadan, party leaders failed to reach a consensus on the zoning arrangement.
While some influential figures reportedly supported the proposal to zone the chairmanship to Oke-Ogun, others resisted it strongly. Among those believed to favour the move is Chief Adebayo Adelabu, who is said to be strategically aligning with the zoning arrangement amid permutations that the party’s 2027 governorship ticket may tilt towards Ibadan.
Party insiders suggest that zoning the chairmanship to Oke-Ogun could serve as a political balancing mechanism should an Ibadan indigene emerge as the governorship candidate.
The debate is also reopening old wounds about political dominance in the state. Since the return to democratic rule in 1999, Ibadan has largely controlled the governorship seat in Oyo State. The late Christopher Alao-Akala from Ogbomosho remains the only non-Ibadan indigene to have occupied the Agodi Government House in this democratic dispensation.
Consequently, there have been persistent agitations that the APC’s governorship ticket in 2027 should be ceded to Oke-Ogun, which many believe has been politically marginalized despite its numerical strength and strategic importance.
However, former Minister of Communications, Barrister Bayo Shittu, has emerged as the most vocal opponent of the zoning arrangement.
Speaking with WesternLifeNewsNG shortly after Sunday’s meeting, Shittu rejected the proposal outright, declaring that Oke-Ogun leaders and aspirants would not accept what he described as a political consolation prize.
According to him: “We will not accept the chairmanship slot being advanced to Oke-Ogun. If anyone from Oke-Ogun decides to take that position, we will not recognize him.”
Shittu’s position signals a major crack within the Oke-Ogun bloc itself. About five governorship aspirants from the zone, including Shittu, Engr. Rauf Olaniyan and Brigadier Adegbola (rtd) are reportedly uncomfortable with the zoning formula.
Observers say Shittu’s resistance is rooted in the fear that accepting the chairmanship slot could weaken Oke-Ogun’s moral and political claim to the governorship ticket in 2027.
To him and his allies, the governorship not the chairmanship, represents true power inclusion.
The zoning crisis comes at a time when no fewer than eleven aspirants are positioning themselves for the APC governorship ticket. Among them are Barrister Shittu, Senator Teslim Folarin, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, Engr. Remi Oseni, Engr. Raheem Olaniyan, Barr. Akeem Agbaje, Chief A.K. Kareem.
Political analysts believe the unresolved zoning dispute could deepen factional alignments within the party and potentially affect its preparedness for the 2027 general elections.
With the State Congress just days away, the APC in Oyo State appears caught between managing internal ambitions and maintaining party cohesion.
Whether the party will find a compromise formula or witness further polarization remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that Barrister Shittu’s open rejection of the zoning proposal has added a new layer of complexity to an already delicate political equation.
As the Congress approaches, all eyes are now on how the APC leadership will navigate what could become a defining moment in the party’s internal power struggle.
