The 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Teslim Folarin, former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and other aggrieved aspirants stayed away from a reconciliation meeting held by the party’s national chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, in Ibadan on Wednesday.
Naija News reports that governorship aspirants Akeem Agbaje, Hakeem Alao, and former Deputy Governor of the state, Rauf Olaniyan, were also absent.
The meeting was held with members of the Oyo State APC reconciliation committee as the party intensifies efforts to resolve internal disagreements ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Yilwatda said reconciliation within the party was an ongoing exercise, stressing that the APC needed unity to make a serious bid to regain control of Oyo State in 2027.
He described the disagreements among members as an internal family matter that could be resolved through dialogue.
Yilwatda said, “The APC is a family. Whatever is happening in the party is a family issue. It is normal for members of the same family to have challenges, but we are happy that the issues are being addressed as a family.
“We are a family. It is normal for children of the same family to have some little difficulties. But we are happy that the party is still stable.”
He said the leadership would continue to engage aggrieved members, address their complaints and work towards rebuilding confidence within the party.
The APC chairman also commented on the recently concluded Osun State governorship election, saying the party had yet to adopt an official position on the outcome.
Yilwatda said the National Working Committee (NWC) would first meet with the party’s candidate and other stakeholders to examine what transpired during the election before making a formal pronouncement.
He further stated, “We have not sat down as a party to take a position. A position as a party will involve the National Working Committee inviting candidates and taking a review of what happened in Osun State.”
He, however, described the election as an opportunity for the APC to identify areas requiring improvement, urging members to demonstrate political maturity and sportsmanship.
The Chairman of the Oyo APC reconciliation committee, Femi Lanlehin, said the committee had made progress in its efforts to settle the grievances arising from the party’s governorship primary.
Lanlehin said the committee had met the aggrieved aspirants and submitted its findings to the national chairman.
According to Lanlehin, “The party is making headway in its efforts to reconcile the aggrieved members before the conduct of the 2027 elections.”
“We just came out of the primaries, and some people are not happy with the outcome. They expressed their disappointment. They were aggrieved. We have presented our findings to the national chairman of our party to act on it.
“We cannot afford to lose the 2027 election to any opposition parties in Oyo State. I am assuring you that we will win all the elective positions at all levels in 2027 in Oyo State.”
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