Fresh controversy has erupted within the Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress ahead of the party’s senatorial primary in Oyo North following a heated confrontation between senatorial aspirant, Prof. Adeolu Akande, and the party’s Publicity Secretary, Wasiu Olawale Sadare, over allegations of candidate imposition and secret consensus arrangements.
The crisis became public after Prof. Akande raised alarm over what he described as an elaborate attempt by some party officials to mislead members into believing that the APC had already settled for a preferred aspirant ahead of the primary election.
Akande alleged that during a stakeholders’ meeting in Iseyin, a former Commissioner for Environment, Waheed Dauda, allegedly informed attendees that the party had agreed on a particular aspirant as the official candidate for Oyo North Senatorial District.
According to him, Dauda purportedly placed a call to APC Publicity Secretary, Wasiu Sadare, on speakerphone during the meeting, where Sadare was allegedly heard confirming the existence of a consensus arrangement.
The former Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission said he immediately contacted Sadare, who denied making such a statement and also denied that the party had adopted any candidate.
Akande accused unnamed party officials of allegedly engaging in “shenanigans” capable of undermining the integrity of the APC and the democratic principles being promoted by President Bola Tinubu.
“This is the falsehood they have perpetrated these past few weeks on the primaries of the APC in Oyo State,” Akande stated.
He urged party members to ignore alleged plots aimed at denying them their democratic rights and called on delegates to participate freely in the primary election.
However, in a strongly worded open letter addressed to Akande, Sadare denied all allegations and accused the senatorial aspirant of verbally attacking him during a phone conversation.
Sadare claimed Akande called him around 3:14pm and allegedly accused him of collecting bribes and participating in a supposed cabal determined to impose candidates on party members.
The APC spokesman described the allegations as false, baseless, and defamatory, insisting that he neither spoke with anyone from Oke-Ogun concerning a consensus candidate nor collected money from any aspirant.
“For the record, all the allegations levelled against me were spurious, unfounded and false,” Sadare wrote.
He further challenged Akande to obtain his call records from telecommunications providers to verify whether any such conversation ever took place between him and the individuals mentioned.
Sadare maintained that he had no knowledge of any anointed or consensus candidate for the Oyo North senatorial ticket and insisted that he remained committed to the unity and success of the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The development has intensified tensions within the Oyo APC as party members prepare for the crucial senatorial primary amid growing concerns over internal divisions and allegations of manipulation.
