By Adeola Badru
The lingering crisis within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over its leadership and governorship candidacy in Oyo State has deepened, with Dr Gbemileke Alagbe insisting that he remains the legitimate candidate of the party ahead of the 2027 election.
Alagbe’s position came on Tuesday after another ADC governorship candidate, Taofeeq Adegoke, publicly unveiled his campaign structure and outlined an ambitious agenda to fight poverty and insecurity, promising an issue-based grassroots campaign ahead of the February 6, 2027 governorship election.
While Adegoke has been presenting his policy agenda and building his campaign organisation, Alagbe, in an interview, challenged the legitimacy of rival claims to the ADC governorship ticket, insisting that he emerged from a valid primary monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies.
He said the May 22, 2026 governorship primary was properly conducted and that he emerged winner among the five aspirants who participated in the exercise.
“Those making such claims are either not members of our party or have been sponsored from outside to cause division within the party.
“The ADC governorship primary was conducted on May 22, 2026. The primary was monitored by INEC and all the relevant security agencies. We have reports to that effect, and the citizens of Oyo State can also verify what happened.
“I emerged as the winner of the primary from among the five aspirants who contested. I was declared the winner, and I have the certificate of return to prove it,“ he said.
Alagbe maintained that the emergence of competing claims over the ADC ticket was not a substitute for the formal legal process of challenging an election result, arguing that anyone disputing his victory should produce evidence or seek judicial intervention.
“I do not see what they are doing as a challenge to my victory. If they were genuinely challenging my victory, they would have gone to court or taken steps to invalidate the result and the report of the primary.
“What some of them are doing is using the media to portray themselves as candidates or trying to influence the party structure and hierarchy so that they can find their way onto the INEC list.
“But that is not how candidacy is determined. In any election, a candidate must emerge through a valid primary and obtain the necessary documents, especially the certificate of return,“ Alagbe said.
He said the dispute was part of a wider crisis affecting the ADC across the South-West, adding that similar divisions were being witnessed in other states, including Lagos.
According to him, he had made several attempts to get the relevant party leadership to reconcile the different tendencies within the Oyo State chapter, but claimed that the efforts were unsuccessful.
“When I noticed the division, I approached the relevant leadership about five times to see how we could bring the different structures together. Unfortunately, for whatever interests or reasons, there was no willingness to settle the matter peacefully. Instead, there has been a preference for litigation,” he said.
“That is why you see factionalisation within the party at the national and state levels, with some of these matters already going through the courts,” he said.
Alagbe insisted that the national leadership of the ADC could not simply determine the party’s governorship candidate, arguing that the law and the outcome of a valid primary should prevail.
“The national leadership does not determine who the candidate is. The law determines that. The law provides for the conduct of primaries, the monitoring of the exercise and the declaration of results. I participated in the valid primary, I won it, and INEC monitored the process,” he said.
He nevertheless acknowledged that the continued division could hurt the party’s electoral prospects, warning that it could affect its performance in several states and potentially undermine its presidential bid if not resolved.
“If you ask for my opinion, the divisions could affect the party in many states. It could even affect the presidential candidate if the party is not united,” he said.
Alagbe, however, expressed confidence that the crisis would have less impact on the ADC’s chances in Oyo State, arguing that local political dynamics and the agitation for power rotation would be more decisive.
“For instance, I am the only governorship candidate from outside Ibadan among the major candidates. There has been a clamour for power to rotate to Oke-Ogun, and I belong to the G22 movement advocating power rotation,” he said.
“Largely, I believe that will determine the governorship election in Oyo State, rather than what is happening within the party at the national level.”
He called for unity among the different tendencies within the party, saying genuine stakeholders should be allowed to participate in the process without undermining the party’s structure.
“We will do better in an atmosphere of unity, harmony and peace. We should work together as a common front rather than as a divided party,” he said.
Beyond the leadership crisis, Alagbe said his proposed administration would focus on a 14-point agenda centred on good governance, local government autonomy, infrastructure, healthcare, education and security.
He pledged to restore genuine autonomy to local governments, arguing that the lack of effective local government administration was hampering development across the state.
“The lack of local government autonomy is affecting development. When we come on board, we will ensure that local governments have the autonomy and resources required to perform their constitutional functions,” he said.
On infrastructure, he promised that every local government would construct at least one kilometre of road every month during the first three years of his administration.
“One of our major plans is that every local government will construct not less than one kilometre of road every month for the first three years of our administration. This will gradually make most of the internal roads motorable,” he said.
He also promised to strengthen primary healthcare by providing drugs and ensuring that healthcare facilities were properly staffed, while primary and secondary education would receive greater attention.
“Many primary healthcare centres have been neglected. Some have no drugs, doctors or nurses. In some communities, they have become places where people simply gather without receiving meaningful healthcare,” he said.
“We will change this by ensuring the availability of free drugs at the primary healthcare level and making sure that healthcare facilities function effectively.”
On security, Alagbe described insecurity in parts of Oyo State as alarming and promised to deploy technology to monitor vulnerable areas while strengthening collaboration with security agencies.
“We will deploy technology to monitor and secure these areas and work with the relevant security agencies to protect lives and property,” he said.
Alagbe also reiterated his opposition to what he described as arbitrary demolition of houses in connection with the Ibadan Circular Road project, while stressing that he was not against the project itself.
“I am not opposed to the construction of the Circular Road. I support the development of infrastructure, but I am opposed to the demolition of people’s houses without providing adequate alternatives,” he said.
He promised to establish what he called the “Circular Road Estate” to provide alternative accommodation for property owners whose houses had been demolished for the project.
“Under the programme, we will provide two-bedroom flats and four-bedroom flats for affected property owners. Anyone whose house was demolished will be adequately compensated.“
“They will not need to beg government. All they need to establish is that they had a house there and that the house was demolished by government.”
On the ADC’s poor showing in the recent Osun State governorship election, Alagbe attributed the outcome to the wider internal struggle within the party, warning that political groups operating outside the mainstream structure would struggle to make significant electoral impact.
“The ADC is largely made up of forces from the PDP, APC, SDP and other political groups that came together. Some other groups joined later, but their numerical strength is very small compared with the mainstream structure.
“If they choose to stand alone, they will always struggle politically. What happened in Osun State is a reflection of that,” he said.
He also questioned the current political influence of former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, saying political relevance was not permanent and depended on the ability to build alliances.
“A tree cannot become a forest overnight. You need other trees to form a forest,” saying, the ADC presidential candidate would likely continue to seek reconciliation among the rival tendencies in the interest of the party.
He insisted that such efforts should not be allowed to override the outcome of the governorship primary, adding, “I trust him as a statesman. I joined the party partly because of him, and I have followed his political activities for a long time.“
He further called for any reconciliation process to be anchored on facts and justice, stating, “We do not need to be defeated in an election before we start calling for unity. I have always maintained that we should unite and work together. But unity must be based on facts and justice.“
“If somebody claims to have won a primary, let him produce the evidence. Show me the result of the primary and the certificate of return, and I am ready to sit down with him.”
Alagbe also alleged that some interests outside the party, particularly in Ibadan, were opposed to the emergence of a governorship candidate from outside the city.
“The struggle is not simply about the party. It is also a zonal struggle by some individuals who want to turn themselves into political gatekeepers and prevent other zones from producing candidates.“
“But that will not work. Our campaign structure will have 5,000 members because we know that the election will be a grassroots contest.“
“We are building a structure that will reach every community, every local government and every ward in Oyo State,“ he said.
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