Open Letter to Mr President: Saboteurs in Osun APC and a call for accountability

Your Excellency sir,

Join the Premium Times WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.

We write as concerned members and stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, under the auspices of the Osun APC Concerned Group, to draw your attention to issues which, in our considered view, contributed significantly to the disappointing outcome of the 2026 Osun State Governorship Election.

Our intervention is not borne out of bitterness or an attempt to settle personal scores. It is a patriotic call for introspection, accountability and corrective action within our party. The APC cannot afford to repeat the circumstances that contributed to its defeat in 2026, particularly as the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections approach.

We believe the party’s post-election assessment must go beyond examining the activities of opposition parties and electoral circumstances. It must also investigate whether individuals within the APC deliberately or inadvertently worked against the collective interest of the party.

THE NATIONAL SECRETARY’S REPEATED LOSS IN HIS HOME BASE

One of the most troubling issues requiring urgent attention is the performance of the party’s National Secretary, particularly in his immediate political constituency.

For the second consecutive time, the National Secretary reportedly lost his ward and his Local Government, Osogbo, to the opposition in a governorship election.

While electoral defeat in itself is not evidence of sabotage, the recurrence of such a result involving a senior national officer of the party raises serious questions that deserve objective investigation.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times

Add as a preferred source on Google

More troubling are reports and political narratives surrounding the alleged motivations behind his conduct during the 2022 and 2026 election cycles.

According to reports making the rounds within the party, there was a belief that if His Excellency, Adegboyega Oyetola CON, had won his re-election in 2022 and remained Governor of Osun State, the National Secretary, who was then a Senator from the same senatorial district as the former Governor, would have had little or no realistic opportunity to emerge as the APC’s governorship candidate in 2026.

It has therefore been alleged that this political calculation informed his alleged opposition to the party’s interest in 2022.

We believe this allegation should not be dismissed without investigation. If political ambition was indeed allowed to influence the fortunes of the APC in 2022, it would represent a grave betrayal of party loyalty and a dangerous precedent for the future.

FROM 2022 TO 2026: A RECURRING PATTERN?

Fast-forward to 2026, another political calculation appeared to emerge.

The Osun West governorship agenda had gained significant momentum, while the National Secretary, according to party discussions, was interested in securing the governorship ticket from Osun Central.

When the party’s preference eventually shifted towards the Osun West agenda, questions arose regarding the level of commitment of the National Secretary to the party’s eventual candidate and campaign.

It is on record, according to party members, that the National Secretary did not meaningfully join the struggle for the actualisation of the party’s governorship project until only a few days before the election.

Even more importantly, party members have questioned the extent of his material, political and organisational contribution to the campaign before his late involvement.

One therefore asks: why?

Why would a national officer of the party remain seemingly distant from a major governorship struggle for such an extended period, only to become visibly involved when the election was already close?

These questions deserve answers—not accusations without evidence, but a transparent investigation capable of separating fact from political speculation.

THE “OSOGBO 2030” AGENDA AND THE 2026 ELECTION

There are also unconfirmed reports that the National Secretary allegedly told close political allies that his governorship ambition would be more feasible under another four years of an Ademola Adeleke administration and an Accord Party-controlled political environment than under an eight-year administration of an APC government led by Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO).

We stress that this is an unconfirmed report, and we do not present it as an established fact.

However, because of the gravity of the allegation and the position occupied by the individual concerned, it deserves to be investigated by the appropriate party authorities.

If such a political calculation existed, it could explain why some followers and political associates allegedly embraced the “Osogbo 2030” narrative during the 2026 election.

The concern is that an agenda ostensibly presented as a future political project may have been deployed in a manner that weakened the immediate objective of the APC—namely, the election of its governorship candidate, AMBO, in 2026.

If party members were deliberately encouraged to prioritise a future personal ambition over the immediate success of the party, then the issue transcends personal politics. It becomes a question of party discipline and loyalty.

The APC must therefore investigate whether the “Osogbo 2030” agenda was merely an independent political aspiration or whether it was strategically used to undermine the party’s 2026 governorship campaign.

THE REPORTED BACKDOOR ARRANGEMENT WITH MR PRESIDENT

We are equally concerned about reports of a backdoor arrangement through which some supposedly aggrieved members of the party were facilitated to meet with Your Excellency only a few days before the Osun governorship election.

At a time when the party required unity and a common purpose, any attempt to create parallel channels of communication or present a sectional narrative to the President could have further complicated an already delicate political situation.

We therefore urge Your Excellency to establish the circumstances surrounding such meetings, who facilitated them, what representations were made and whether the information presented accurately reflected the situation within the Osun APC.

THE PURPORTED SURVEY REPORT

Another matter requiring investigation is the purported survey report on the Osun governorship election allegedly conducted and presented to the National Working Committee by the National Secretary.

A survey intended to guide a political party must be professionally conducted, independently verifiable and based on credible methodology.

Where such a sensitive report is allegedly conducted or controlled by an individual with a personal political interest in the outcome, legitimate questions may arise regarding its independence and credibility.

We therefore call for the report to be subjected to an independent review. The party should establish who commissioned the survey, who conducted it, the methodology employed, the geographical areas covered, the data obtained and how its conclusions influenced the party’s decisions.

THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HON. ADEGBOYEGA OYETOLA

We also consider it necessary to address what appears to be a sustained effort to malign Hon. Gboyega Oyetola CON, the immediate past Governor of Osun State and current Federal Minister.

The narrative accusing the Minister of single-handedly selecting national and state assembly candidates and federal appointees appears to us to be an attempt to diminish his political contributions and undermine the structure he helped sustain after the APC lost power in 2022.

Again, we are not saying that the Minister is above criticism. However, political disagreement should not become an instrument for rewriting history or deliberately weakening individuals who have contributed to the party’s survival.

The Minister’s efforts in rebuilding and sustaining the APC in Osun State deserve acknowledgement.

At the same time, we respectfully urge him to speak up in the face of hypocrisy and deliberate misrepresentation. There are moments when political leaders must defend not only themselves but also the truth about the sacrifices made to keep the party alive.

A CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESTRUCTURING

Your Excellency, the 2026 Osun governorship election should be treated as a serious warning to the APC.

The party must undertake a comprehensive and impartial post-election review covering the conduct of national, state and local party officials, campaign structures and other critical stakeholders.

Where evidence establishes that anyone deliberately sabotaged the party’s electoral prospects, such individuals must be brought to book in accordance with the constitution and disciplinary procedures of the APC.

This should not be a witch-hunt. It must be an evidence-based process conducted fairly and transparently.

OUR APPEAL

We respectfully call on Your Excellency and the national leadership of the APC to:

Investigate all credible allegations of sabotage surrounding the 2026 Osun governorship election and hold culpable persons accountable.

Investigate the circumstances surrounding the National Secretary’s reported repeated loss of his ward and Osogbo Local Government, and determine whether his political activities contributed to the outcome.

Examine the allegations surrounding the 2022 election, particularly the claim that personal governorship ambition influenced actions that may have weakened the APC’s re-election effort.

Investigate the reported late involvement of the National Secretary in the 2026 governorship campaign, despite his position as one of the party’s most senior officials.

Establish the facts surrounding the reported “Osogbo 2030” mobilisation and whether it was deployed in a manner that undermined the APC’s 2026 governorship campaign.

Investigate the reported meetings between supposedly aggrieved party members and Your Excellency shortly before the election, including the persons who facilitated them and the information presented.

Subject the purported survey report on the Osun governorship election to an independent review.

Protect the integrity of party leaders and stakeholders who have genuinely worked to rebuild the APC, including Hon. Gboyega Oyetola, while allowing legitimate criticism where necessary.

Fully involve genuine stakeholders and committed party members in preparations for the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections, irrespective of personal political ambitions.

CONCLUSION

Your Excellency, the APC must learn from Osun.

We cannot afford a situation where individual political calculations are allowed to determine the fate of an entire political party.

The 2026 election has exposed the need for greater internal discipline, accountability, transparency and collective responsibility.

Those who sacrificed for the party must not be pushed aside by those whose personal ambitions have become greater than the collective interest of the APC.

We therefore urge Your Excellency to ensure that the events leading to the 2026 Osun governorship election are subjected to a deep, impartial and fearless review.

The objective should not be revenge. It should be truth, accountability and reform.

The APC needs all genuine stakeholders—leaders, elders, youths, women, grassroots mobilisers and ordinary party members—working together ahead of 2027.

The party must not repeat the mistakes of 2022 and 2026.

The time has come to identify the weaknesses, expose the failures, reward loyalty, punish proven acts of sabotage and rebuild the APC on the foundation of fairness and collective interest.

Osun APC can rise again, but only if we have the courage to confront the truth.

Signed:

Yours Faithfully,

OSUN APC CONCERNED GROUP

Salam Hammed Idris Olasunkanmi
Coordinator Secretary