Ogun guber race: Obasanjo faults  Adeola’s emergence

The consensus arrangement that produced Senator Solomon Adeola as the APC’s governorship candidate in Ogun State, has been faulted by the daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof. Iyabo Obasanjo.

She described the process as inconsistent with the party’s established guidelines.

The former senator, who represented Ogun Central between 2007 and 2011, stated that although she had publicly and privately pledged to abide by any consensus decision reached by the party, the leadership failed to carry her along before announcing Adeola as the consensus candidate.

According to her, the process violated the APC’s own rules, which require consultation and agreement among aspirants before a consensus candidate is adopted.

She further alleged that some of her supporters were violently prevented from entering the venue where Adeola’s emergence was announced.

Prof. Obasanjo, who recently contested for the APC governorship ticket ahead of the 2027 elections, consequently said she has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing alleged disrespect, rejection, and maltreatment by the ruling party’s leadership in the state.

She disclosed this in a letter dated May 31 and addressed to the Ogun State Chairman of the party, Chief Yemi Sanusi.

A copy of the resignation letter was made available to journalists on Monday.

Despite her reservations, the US-based Associate Professor of Epidemiology said she chose to prioritize party unity and immediately congratulated the candidate while pledging her support for his gubernatorial ambition.

She disclosed that Adeola subsequently contacted her to appreciate her statesmanship and later met with her and her supporters.

During the meeting, she said her supporters presented three requests to the senator, stressing that none of them was compulsory.

According to her, Adeola promised to respond within one week, but allegedly failed to do so more than two months later.

The former Ogun State Commissioner for Health said the incident was only one among several experiences that left her feeling rejected and unappreciated within the party.

The letter reads: “When I started the journey to get the party’s nomination for Governor, I came to see you and I said to you and everyone both privately and publicly that I will honor the party’s consensus decision once it has been made.

“When that day came, even as violence was perpetrated against my supporters to stop them from entering the venue, I maintained my
calmness.

“At the venue, with no prior meeting with me as a candidate, given what the national party says in its guidelines on what consensus should be, i.e., having meetings where all candidates agree to the candidate that will be announced, a candidate was announced.

“No one acknowledged my presence at the meeting, given that I was the most prominent opposition to the candidate chosen, and I had traversed the state mobilizing and encouraging grassroots APC support.

“Based on my conviction that party unity is important, I wrote my letter accepting the party’s consensus candidate that night, even with the flawed process. The consensus candidate called me the next morning and asked for a meeting with my followers and me, which we had about 2 weeks later.

“At that meeting, my people made 3 requests, which I said were not compulsory, but he should let me know so I would let my people
know his responses, and he said I should give him a week.

“Unless he gets back to me after I send this letter, he has not reached out to me after 2 months. This is just part of the general treatment I have received from APC of disrespect and rejection, as if I were not there, making contributions that increased support for the party in Ogun Central and across the state.

“A famous person once said that when disrespect is the
only dish served, then one should leave the table. I am therefore leaving the APC table where I am not welcome. This is my resignation from the party.

Despite her grievances, Obasanjo expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu, Ogun APC Chairman Chief Yemi Sanusi, and the Ogun Central Senatorial Chairman, Chief Soremi, for what she described as their warm disposition towards her during her brief stay in the party.

“Through you, I want to thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for receiving me warmly as usual, and I thank you and our Ogun Central Senatorial Chairman, Chief Soremi, as both of you treated me well, and I will always remember that. Best Regards.”