Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan
The Media Team of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Adegboyega Taofeek Adegoke, on Friday, described the claim to the party’s governorship ticket by one of the gubernatorial aspirants, Mr. Gbemileke Alagbe, as “wishful thinking”.
This is just as it questioned how Alagbe could claim to be the ADC governorship candidate after instituting a suit against the party and its National Working Committee (NWC).
Alagbe had on Thursday during a press conference stated that he is the ADC candidate in the 2027 general election, and unveiled Mr. Niyi Aborisade as his running mate and deputy governorship candidate.
But the media team cited Suit No. FHC/IB/CS/67/2026, filed by him at the Federal High Court in Ibadan on June 28, 2026, stating that the case had been adjourned until September 15, 2026.
“How can someone that has already taken the ADC, the ADC NWC and others to court be claiming he is the governorship candidate submitted by the same party, ADC, to INEC? Is that not a contradiction?” the team asked.
It also questioned the basis of Alagbe’s decision to sue the party and subsequently claim that the same party had submitted his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
It maintained that Adegoke emerged as the ADC governorship candidate at the party’s primary election with 16,051 votes.
According to the team, the primary election results, which were publicly reported by multiple media organisations, showed Bisi Ilaka with 11,415 votes, Alagbe with 241 votes, Azeez Adeduntan with 155 votes and Aborisade with 67 votes.
It therefore urged the media, members of the public and ADC members in the state to disregard what it described as false claims concerning the party’s governorship ticket.
It said: “The identity of a political party’s candidate is not determined by who makes the loudest declaration or who receives the most publicity. It is determined by the applicable electoral process, authentic records and the law.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Olooye Adegboyega Taofeek Adegoke remains our recognised gubernatorial candidate, and we remain firmly committed to defending his mandate through every lawful and legitimate avenue available to us.
“We have no objection to any individual exercising his or her lawful rights, but we will strongly resist any attempt to substitute propaganda, wishful thinking, or unverifiable claims for established facts.”