Omisore mum as APC blocks gov ambition

Senator Iyiola Omisore. Photo: Instagram | (Iyiola Omisore)

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The immediate past National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Iyiola Omisore, has remained silent after his reported disqualification from the party’s December 13 governorship primary in Osun State.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that the APC Screening Committee, which concluded its work on December 4, 2025, at Amor Hotel, Katampe, Abuja, disqualified Omisore and six other aspirants.

Other disqualified aspirants are a former deputy governor of the state, Benedict Alabi, ex-Senior Special Assistant to the President on Legislative Matters, Babajide Omoworare, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kunle Adegoke, a businessman, Dotun Babayemi, an insurance expert Akin Ogunbiyi, and Babatunde Oralusi.

The committee, headed by Obinna Uzoh, said the affected aspirants did not submit proof of sponsorship from at least five fully registered and financially current party members from each Local Government Area of the state, as stipulated by Articles 9.3(i) and 31.2(ii) of the APC Constitution and Paragraph 6(c) of the party guidelines.

The committee’s report, sighted by our correspondent on Friday, added that only Mulikat Jimoh and Munirudeen Oyebamiji were approved to participate in the primary election.

The report read in part, “In carrying out its assignment, the Committee adopted the following screening process: Examination of documents and materials: All forms, declarations, supporting materials, and attachments submitted by aspirants were thoroughly reviewed to verify their authenticity and compliance with statutory and party requirements.

“Each aspirant underwent a structured interview session during which the Committee assessed their knowledge of party rules, personal preparedness, adherence to nomination requirements, and overall suitability.

“This methodology ensured a transparent, fair, and objective evaluation process.”

It noted that the Committee received a petition from the Osun APC Renewal Group calling for the disqualification of the two aspirants, who were said to have failed to meet the mandatory nomination requirements set out in the APC Constitution and the party’s guidelines for the governorship primary.

“Upon careful review, the Committee found the issues raised in the petition to be weighty, substantial, and relevant to the integrity of the screening process. In the interest of fairness, transparency, and uniform application of the Party’s rules, the Committee resolved that the concerns highlighted should not be applied selectively.

“The Committee found that two aspirants, Mulikat Abiola Jimoh and Munirudeen Bola Oyebanji, satisfactorily met all constitutional and guideline requirements of the APC, including proper nomination by the requisite number of fully registered, financially up-to-date party members from each Local Government Area,” it added.

However, Omisore, who is among the leading aspirants in the state, refused to comment on the matter.

A former special assistant to the governor on education, Jamiu Olawumi, who has been acting as Omisore’s spokesperson since the commencement of the ambition, requested time to comment on the disqualification.

“We are on top of it. It is being addressed. Give me time to react. Call me back,” he said when one of our correspondents reached out to him.

However, he neither answered calls nor replied to messages sent to his phone afterwards.

Another loyalist of the former deputy governor, who prayed not to be named, also declined to comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, two of the disqualified governorship aspirants, who spoke with Saturday PUNCH on condition of anonymity, criticised the party’s Screening Committee decision, describing it as an attempt to impose a candidate on them.

One of the aspirants said: “This is very interesting and weird. Who are the financial members? How did they emerge? When did they pay, into which party account, and how many are they across the state? When was a call made to members to come and pay? Where is the notice as sent out? Which account number did they pay into? Where was the final list of financial members as displayed in each ward? Can we even have the list of financial members and their individual proof of payment? In fact, this is a strange incense on the altar of progressive politics. It should rather be a rumour and die as that.”

Another aspirant’s aide described the decision taken by the committee as “bad politics” for the APC in the state. He accused a party leader of attempting to impose his preferred aspirant on the members.

“A party in opposition cannot play this kind of politics without repercussions. Probably, this overconfidence and desperation are coming from the current misfortune of Governor Adeleke. If by tomorrow he resolves, are we still likely to go this divisive way? Have they forgotten Ogbeni Aregbesola? Hope the so-called financial party members have the number and votes enough to see them through the general election. Or will those disqualified candidates and their disqualified nominators be valid to vote eventually, and will they joyfully do so? This is blind and desperate politics; I am sure the party leaders in the state will address the issue and prevent any form of degeneration.”

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