The expulsion of Rauf Aregbesola, and the exit of his Omoluabi group, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State have added a new strong force to the dynamics of Osun politics ahead of the 2026 governorship election.
While Aregbesola and his supporters are yet to disclose their destination, APC members in the state have described his expulsion/exit as long overdue.
Although the ex-minister said his group is open to any progressive political party, Vanguard gathered that different political parties have been visiting the former governor to woo him into their folds.
One such political party is the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, whose Chairman, Dr. Tosin Odeyemi, pleaded with Aregbesola and his group to join the party to return the state to good governance.
While insinuations abound that Aregbesola and his Omoluabi caucus may join the Ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, the group’s spokesperson, Oluwaseun Abosede, disclosed that the PDP is never an option for the group.
His words: “To join PDP? No. Never. We are not considering joining the PDP at all.
“We are too popular to join the PDP; the rumour is being peddled by APC members who felt our not working for former Governor Gboyega Oyetola’s re-election bid was the reason the PDP won the 2022 poll in the state.
“Presently, we are not in any party. Although many political parties, including NNPP, LP, PDP, and like-minded persons in the APC, have been coming to ask us to join them, the group will decide at the right time.”
On whether the group would join others to form a third force, Abosede said, “We are too big to be known or called a third force. We are the most popular and grassroots-oriented political group in the state. We are the force to be reckoned with by everyone.”
However, the APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, said Ogbeni Aregbesola’s expulsion from the party is a long-overdue decision.
According to him, Aregbesola and his Omoluabi Progressives have been playing an opposition role within the party since 2019.
“We, in the Osun State APC, shall be happy to miss the political irritants and deviants who had since left the party by way of body and soul before the 2022 governorship election in the state.
“You cannot be saying you are in our party and be working against the interest of the same party. You are agents of the PDP in Osun State, and you are still of service to the state’s ruling party. What we are seeing, with the benefit of hindsight, is that the hand is proverbially that of Jacob while the voice is identifiable to Esau.”
The battle for 2026
The state’s political events are not unconnected with the battle for Governor Ademola Adeleke’s job in 2026. While the APC believes Aregbesola’s exit would allow it to have a proper perspective and prepare to take over government in the state, the Omoluabi caucus maintained that its grassroots presence would win the governorship ticket for whichever candidate it decided to field for the poll.
But the APC spokesperson disagreed with this, saying the Aregbesola group’s decision to form a new party or join an existing one would amount to political suicide for the group and its principal.
Olabisi said, “The recent announcement of your either forming or joining another party is the imminent beginning of your political funeral, which will end up in your final burial through the 2026 governorship election.
“Osun APC is waxing stronger by the day. Our message to the frustrated Omoluabi Progressives handlers is that whoever wants to bury his elder brother nakedly should take along his younger brother in order to show the latter how he, too, would be buried at the end of his journey of life.
“We shall be ready for the antics of the political renegades in 2026,” he said.
However, Abosede insisted that the Omoluabi group is not bothered by the APC and the PDP, adding that neither party has what it takes to contest its popularity in the state.
“We are a strong force and possibly the strongest in the state. So, for us, whatever the two parties (come up with) is inconsequential to the group.
“As I said, members from these parties have been coming to us in a bid to join. So, we will get ready; we will be too formidable for them to handle”, he said.
Despite acknowledging Aregbesola’s grassroots popularity, the PDP’s Director of Publicity, Bamidele Olabamiji, believes the developments within the APC have no consequence for the PDP.
“We are indifferent to happenings within the APC, although the former Minister of Interior, who is also a former governor of the state, is a grassroots politician but has never been a member of the PDP, and we have been winning elections even when he was governor. We wish them well, but whatever decision the group decided to take has no effect on us as the ruling political party in the state”, he said.
2026 and possible candidates
While it is certain that the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, will run for a second term in office, the APC is faced with the choice of either zoning its ticket to the Osun-West senatorial district or opening it up for a competitive primary election.
The two frontline candidates for the party’s ticket are the present National Secretary, Dr Basiru Ajibola, and Mr Bola Oyebamiji, a former commissioner for finance under former governor Gboyega Oyetola.
It is not clear yet if Oyetola, the immediate past governor and current Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, wants to run for a second term in office. If the president’s cousin decides to run again, Ajibola and Oyebamiji may have to wait another four years.
