Bola Oyebamiji, former Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority, has secured the All Progressives Congress ticket for the Osun State governorship election after being adopted as the party’s consensus candidate.
The decision was reached during the APC primary held in Osogbo, where two aspirants, Kunle Adegoke (SAN) and Senator Babajide Omoworare, moved a motion endorsing Oyebamiji as the party’s flagbearer. The motion was put to a voice vote by the chairman of the APC governorship primary committee and Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, and received overwhelming approval from party members present.
Declaring the outcome, Okpebholo said, “By the power conferred on me, I present to you Bola Oyebamiji, as the governorship candidate of our party.”
The primary exercise began with the arrival of the committee led by Okpebholo, who had earlier stated that the candidate would emerge through affirmation. He arrived alongside the committee’s co-chairman, Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as well as Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule, Dr Obafemi Hamzat representing the Lagos State Governor, and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.
Prior to the primary, the party had confirmed 1,660 delegates eligible to take part in the exercise. There were also indications that all seven APC governorship aspirants in Osun agreed to support a consensus candidate after a late-night meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.
Former APC National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, later threw his weight behind the arrangement. Speaking on TVC News’ Politics Tonight, Omisore said he accepted the party’s decision in line with guidance from President Tinubu, despite being among the aspirants earlier disqualified by the APC Screening Committee over alleged breaches of party guidelines and electoral provisions.
