A Call to Leadership: Putting APC’s Interest Above Personal Ambitions

By: Adedire Yekini

The emergence of Chief Alake Adeyemo as the Oyo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) signals a new era for the party with enormous responsibility and greater expectations from loyal party members across the state.

However, disturbing rumours are already spreading within party circles that the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, has allegedly handed the new chairman a mandate to ensure that the current senator representing Oyo South, Sen Sarafadeen Abiodun Alli emerge as the APC governorship candidate in 2027, while his brother, Soji Adedeji, popularly known as SOJ, is positioned as the Deputy Governorship candidate.

If there is any truth to this arrangement, it must be rejected immediately and decisively.

The APC in Oyo State is not a private estate to be shared among a few powerful individuals. It is a political platform built on the sweat, loyalty, and sacrifices of thousands of party members who believe in internal democracy and fairness.

Party members did not struggle for years, endure electoral defeats, and defend this party across polling units simply for a few power brokers to sit in closed rooms and allocate positions to their preferred candidates.

Let it be said clearly, the governorship ticket of the APC in Oyo State is not for sale, not for allocation, and certainly not for family compensation.

Chief Alake Adeyemo must understand that his tenure will be judged by one simple test, whether he protects the integrity of the party or allows it to be hijacked by political merchants.

The people of Oyo State are already tired of the destructive power games between influential figures such as Fatai Ibikunle and Zacch Adedeji. The APC cannot afford to walk blindly into another cycle of imposition, manipulation, and internal sabotage.

We have seen this movie before, and it has never ended well for the party.

Party members must not forget history, because the same actors who weakened our party before are once again positioning themselves to do it again.

Both Zacch Adedeji and Fatai Ibikunle have established a troubling pattern of destabilizing the APC in Oyo State.

In 2019, when the party needed unity the most, Fatai Ibikunle openly aligned himself with a coalition that worked against APC’s victory, a move that ultimately paved the way for Seyi Makinde to take power in Oyo State.

In 2023, instead of working tirelessly for APC’s return to power, Zacch Adedeji was widely reported to have thrown his weight behind the re-election of Governor Seyi Makinde in cash and kind, further weakening the party’s chances.

Now, the same forces appear to be back on the same destructive path. Their latest strategy is to impose Senator Sarafa Alli on the party structure, using a newly installed and easily manipulated state chairman as a political tool.

This is not leadership; this is a calculated attempt to hijack the party structure for personal ambition.

If party members remain silent, this same pattern of sabotage will once again hand victory to our opponents in 2027.

The APC in Oyo State must decide: Will we allow the same individuals who contributed to our past defeats to dictate our future?

Party unity, internal democracy, and loyalty must come before personal political projects. Anything short of that is simply another roadmap to fiasco.

If APC truly wants to reclaim power in Oyo State, then the process of choosing its candidate must be open, credible, and competitive

Every aspirant must be given a fair chance. No secret endorsements. No backdoor arrangements and no political coronations.

Chief Alake Adeyemo must resist pressure from powerful interests and remember that he is the chairman of the entire party — not the political agent of any individual or faction.

The message from the grassroots is simple and unmistakable, protect the party, protect internal democracy. Let the best candidate emerge.

Anything short of that will not only weaken the APC but will also betray the trust of thousands of loyal party members across Oyo State.

The party is watching, members are watching and history will remember the choices made at this critical moment.

Adedire yekinni, writes from Orita Naira, Ogbomoso, Oyo State