With few days to the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in Osun State, the party’s apex elders’ council, Igbimo Agba Osun, has unanimously endorsed the state’s former Commissioner for Finance, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO) as its consensus candidate.
It was gathered that the Elders’ Council, led by Engr. Sola Akinwumi, former Chairman of the Odu’a Group of Companies, described Asiwaju Oyebamiji, the immediate past Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), as the preferred flag-bearer of the party for the 2026 governorship election.
The endorsement followed a comprehensive screening exercise conducted by the council, during which no fewer than 12 gubernatorial aspirants were assessed.
Speaking on the development, a member of the council who craved anonymity said the decision was informed by Oyebamiji’s outstanding leadership records across both the private and public sectors, as well as his “clean and verifiable credentials and his popularity in the state.”
According to the source, the council gave significant consideration to the recommendations of the APC Repositioning Committee, submitted in 2024, which emphasised that the long-standing agitation for power shift to Osun West Senatorial District should be a major factor in selecting the party’s candidate.
The Elders’ Council reportedly also considered previous communications from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, signalling the President’s preference for a candidate from Osun West in the spirit of fairness and equity.
To this end, a former national executive of the party was said to have been asked to step down, with assurances of an ambassadorial appointment in the coming weeks.
It was further learnt that the decision of the Agba Osun played a major role in the public declaration of support for the AMBO project by a prominent member of the council from Iwo Federal Constituency, Professor Deremi Abubakar, who openly flagged off the governorship movement days ago.
Similarly, the former National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande, reportedly informed aspirants of President Tinubu’s decision to support Oyebamiji’s candidature for the 2026 poll.
Also during the week, the National Secretary of the APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru
pulled out of the contest.
The former Senate spokesperson announced his withdrawal in Osogbo, saying his decision followed careful reflection on his responsibilities and engagements with key stakeholders.
“Considering the enormous responsibilities of my current office as National Secretary of our great party and after due consultations with our esteemed leaders and stakeholders, particularly the Leader of our party and President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it has become necessary to emphatically state that I shall not be contesting the 2026 Osun State governorship election,” he declared.
However, reliable sources also disclosed that the AMBO campaign structure is already reaching out to supporters of other aspirants in an effort to build a united and formidable front ahead of the election.
Although the APC governorship primary is scheduled for December 13, 2025, political observers believe that the coast is steadily clearing for Asiwaju Oyebamiji to emerge as the party’s consensus candidate ahead of the August 8, 2026 governorship election, where the APC hopes to unseat the incumbent governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke.
Efforts to reach Engr. Sola Akinwumi, Chairman of the APC Elders’ Council, for confirmation were unsuccessful, as calls placed to his line went unanswered.
Similarly, calls and text messages sent to Asiwaju Oyebamiji had not been responded to as of the time of filing this report.
