The immediate past National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Iyiola Omisore, has rejected his disqualification from the party’s governorship primary in Osun State, saying the APC was “pointing at failure.”
Omisore, who spoke on behalf of six other disqualified aspirants, faulted the report of the APC Screening Committee that barred them from participating in the December 13 primary election of the party.
He described the report as “the joke of the year.”
The APC Screening Committee, chaired by Chief Obinna Uzoh, concluded the screening on December 4 and forwarded its report to the party’s National Working Committee in Abuja on Friday.
The committee disqualified Omisore; a former deputy governor of the state, Benedict Alabi; a former Senior Special Assistant to the President on Legislative Matters, Babajide Omoworare; a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kunle Adegoke; a businessman, Dotun Babayemi; an insurance expert, Akin Ogunbiyi; and Babatunde Oralusi.
According to the committee, the aspirants failed to provide evidence of sponsorship from at least five fully registered and financially up-to-date party members in each Local Government Area of Osun State, as required by Articles 9.3(i) and 31.2(ii) of the APC Constitution and Paragraph 6(c) of the party guidelines.
Only Mulikat Abiola Jimoh and Bola Oyebamiji were approved to participate in the primary election.
Speaking after meeting with the Screening Appeal Panel in Abuja on Saturday, Omisore—who was flanked by Alabi, Ogunbiyi and others—alleged undue interference in the process by the Minister of Marine Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, to favour Oyebamiji.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has scheduled the Osun State governorship election for August 8, 2026.
Omisore said the screening panel’s action raised concerns about fairness and transparency within the party’s nomination process.
He stated, “That panel report is the jokiest report of the year. It is quite unfortunate that people have taken partisanship beyond politics. We are aware that the panel members have two, three reports. The one taken to the secretariat wasn’t the original report. As we speak today, none of us has seen their report or knows why we were disqualified.
“But you can know from our pedigree that the disqualification wasn’t the right word to use for us because we are germane in this thing. We are the veterans! You can see for yourself that when you have disqualified people like us in any contest, where do we go from there?
“The party is pointing at failure, and the chairman of the panel told us that Minister Gboyega Oyetola called him and said they must disqualify all of us because he wants his lackey, his poster boy, Oyebamiji. Yes, he told us that he was under pressure. Unfortunately, we are in it together.”
Omisore expressed disappointment, stating that the screening panel should have adopted a different approach, noting that all aspirants—even those who were cleared—were equally culpable.
He added, “I am the only one that has met them. But we have the same reservations. All of us will meet the appeal panel individually. But I asked them, what are the allegations, because we haven’t seen any? We haven’t been written to. So, what are the bases of the disqualification? You said we didn’t have nominators—five per local government. But the law says, ‘He who alleges must prove.’ They should have used another method to disqualify us.
“As a person, I look forward to good things in my life. The NWC, in their own wisdom, have the list of members of the party, and we have over 13,000 members of the party who are financiers. And all of us aspirants are guilty of the same thing, the same system, the same way. That’s the issue, and it calls for caution.”
Speaking separately with journalists, Babayemi said he was not interested in ganging up against the party leadership.
He stated, “I am not interested in a gang-up but will pursue a formal appeal to ensure that Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, APC leadership of the party, sets aside my disqualification by the screening panel.”
