Former National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Iyiola Omisore, has rejected his disqualification from the party’s Osun State governorship primary, describing the screening committee’s decision as “the jokiest report of the year” and raising concerns over the integrity of the process.
Omisore spoke on behalf of the disqualified aspirants after meeting with the APC Screening Appeal Panel in Abuja on Saturday, where he alleged procedural irregularities and accused former Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola—now Minister of Marine Economy—of interfering to favour one of the cleared aspirants, Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji.
The APC Screening Committee had disqualified Omisore and six others from the governorship primary scheduled for December 13. Those affected are Babatunde Oralusi, Oyedotun Babayemi, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi, Benedict Alabi, Adegoke Rasheed Okiki and Senator Babajide Omoworare. Only Mulikat Abiola Jimoh and Oyebamiji were cleared to contest.
The committee said the aspirants failed to provide evidence of sponsorship by at least five financially up-to-date party members in each local government area of the state. It cited Articles 9.3(i) and 31.2(ii) of the APC Constitution and Paragraph 6(c) of the party’s guidelines as the basis for the disqualification.
Omisore, however, rejected the grounds outright, insisting that none of the disqualified aspirants was formally notified of any specific violation. He alleged that the panel produced multiple reports and that the version submitted to the party secretariat differed from the original. According to him, no aspirant was shown the report or given detailed reasons for their disqualification.
He also queried the method used to determine that aspirants lacked the required number of nominators, noting that the party leadership has full access to the membership register. He argued that the burden of proof lies with the accusers and suggested that alternative verification methods should have been adopted if there were genuine concerns.
Expressing frustration over what he described as partisan manoeuvring, Omisore said the disqualified aspirants are experienced politicians with long-standing records within the APC and questioned how such figures could be excluded through what he termed a flawed process.
He further noted that all the aspirants were disqualified on identical grounds and argued that the party’s register of over 13,000 financial members should have been sufficient for proper verification during the screening exercise.
Despite his criticism, Omisore expressed optimism that the APC National Working Committee would review and possibly overturn the disqualification after considering the appeal. He said the controversy reflects deeper factional divisions within the Osun APC.
The development has further heightened political tensions in Osun State, which has in recent times witnessed disputes over Supreme Court judgments on local government allocations and allegations of political violence involving both the APC and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.
With the governorship primary fixed for December 13, attention now shifts to the appeal process as the disqualified aspirants seek redress within the limited time available.