Tension Rocks Ekiti APC as Governorship Aspirant Accuses Party of Imposing Oyebanji

An aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming governorship election in Ekiti State, Abimbola Olawunmi, has accused the party of imposing the incumbent governor, Biodun Oyebanji, as its candidate for the 2026 polls.

Speaking during an interview on Wednesday, Olawunmi alleged that the process that led to Governor Oyebanji’s emergence as the party’s flagbearer was “fundamentally flawed” and therefore unacceptable.

According to Nivo News, the APC aspirant firmly declared that he would not support Oyebanji’s candidacy, insisting that fairness and internal democracy had been compromised within the party.

“If the process that produced Governor Oyebanji as the APC candidate for 2027 had been transparent, I could have supported him. But since it was clearly manipulated, I cannot offer my support,” Olawunmi stated.

He further claimed that the people of Ekiti State have lost confidence in the governor and are not willing to vote for him in the upcoming election. “If he lacked the courage to contest fairly in the primaries, how does he expect to win in the general election?” he questioned.

Earlier this week, the APC officially affirmed Oyebanji as its consensus candidate for the 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State. The motion was moved in Ado-Ekiti by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, and seconded by the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Stephen Aribasoye.

The Chairman of the Affirmation Congress Committee, Ahmed Ododo, defended the decision, noting that it reflected the governor’s significant achievements and the trust he had earned from the people of the state. Ododo also described the APC as a disciplined party united under Oyebanji’s leadership and commitment to development.