By Omeiza Ajayi
National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has likened the party’s political strength in Osun State to a trailer facing a keke napep, declaring that no political party in the state, including Gov. Ademola Adeleke’s Accord, can withstand the calibre of governors, National Assembly, NASS, members and local government chairmen the APC is deploying ahead of the August 15, 2026 governorship election.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Osun State APC Governorship Campaign Council on Tuesday in Abuja, Yilwatda said the committee members had been carefully selected from the National Assembly, governors, members of the Federal Executive Council FEC, deputy governors, past and present lawmakers and different stakeholders of the party, including the business community.
“It is like a trailer facing a keke. I do not know how the political party standing against us in Osun can withstand the strength of these people who are going there to mobilise and win the election in 2026,” he said.
The National Chairman said the APC would mobilise human and material resources across the state, with governors from the South-West, South-South and South-East each taking responsibility for a senatorial district alongside NASS members, House of Assembly members and local government chairmen, while governors from the North would also deploy their local government chairmen, councillors and lawmakers for grassroots campaigns.
“We will do person-to-person campaigns. We will go house to house. There is no tribe, no language, and no resident in Osun today—whether indigene or non-indigene—who does not have an APC member that can walk to his or her house, knock on the door, and persuade that person to support us,” he said.
Dress rehearsal for 2027
Yilwatda described the Osun election as a litmus test for the party’s preparedness for the 2027 general election, saying it would serve as a rehearsal for the political machine being built for that contest.
“This will be our practice ground. It will be our rehearsal for the political machine we are preparing for 2027,” he said, before formally declaring the Campaign Council inaugurated.
Responding on behalf of the newly inaugurated council, Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, said members accepted the assignment with humility, describing public responsibility as a covenant demanding sacrifice, discipline and measurable results.
“Our assignment is clear: to listen to the people of Osun State, speak to their hopes and aspirations, earn their confidence and convince them to vote for the APC and our governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO,” he said.
Uzodimma said the council’s campaign would be issues-based, evidence-driven and respectful, built on the record of the APC-led Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu and the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He added that the party would not be distracted by opposition tactics. “We will not be distracted or intimidated by opposition blackmail, misinformation or manufactured outrage on social media or anywhere else. We will answer falsehood with facts. We will respond to insults with discipline, propaganda with performance and provocation with peace,” he said.
In his remarks, the governorship candidate of the APC in Osun State, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, conveyed the gratitude of party supporters in Osun to President Tinubu and the National Working Committee for their support ahead of the election.
He said Osun State, made up of three senatorial districts, nine federal constituencies, 26 state constituencies, 30 local government areas, 332 political wards and 3,762 polling units, had received the party’s message with uncommon excitement.
Oyebamiji cited a recent solidarity walk led by former Osun State First Lady, Alhaja Kafayat Oyetola, through Osogbo, alongside similar demonstrations of support recorded in Ila, Iragbiji, Ikire, Ife, Iwo, Ilesa and Ede.
He pledged the full cooperation of the Osun APC with the newly inaugurated council. “Together, we will win. Together, we will rescue Osun. Together, we will build a prosperous and sustainable Osun State,” he said.
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