Oyo APC says Folarin's return boosts 2027 victory chances
- Oyo APC says its reconciliation efforts have gained ground ahead of the 2027 elections.
- The party says Senator Teslim Folarin has urged his supporters to work with other stakeholders.
- APC wants at least a million votes for President Tinubu in Oyo in the January poll.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State says it is confident of winning the 2027 general elections after Senator Teslim Folarin, its governorship candidate in 2023, asked his supporters to work with other party stakeholders.
The party said in a statement on Tuesday, signed by its publicity secretary, Olawale Sadare, in Ibadan, that Folarin made the call on Monday. One report said he spoke at a gathering shortly after returning from a trip abroad.
Folarin, a former Senate leader, had kept quiet on party matters for a while. According to the APC, he now wants his followers to join hands with others to deliver Oyo State to the party in 2027.
What the party is saying
Sadare said the party's main goal is to win at least a million votes for President Bola Tinubu in Oyo in the January poll and to see all APC candidates elected in 2027.
"Our eyes have been on the ball as our main goal is about winning, at least, a million votes for President Tinubu in the January poll," Sadare said.
The party credited its reconciliation progress to President Tinubu, saying he intervened to calm aggrieved members. It also said it set up committees of stakeholders early to settle disagreements that followed its primaries.
Sadare named Folarin, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari and Chief Adebayo Adelabu as party figures now fully on board, and said the APC was "good to go" with its victory "assured this time."
The party said it would keep reaching out to members and that its candidates would continue to engage voters, selling the Renewed Hope Agenda and what it called the Oyo AHEAD Project of Senator Sharafadeen Alli, its governorship candidate.
Why it matters
Oyo is one of the battleground states in the South-West, and a united APC there could shape how the state's votes go in the presidential and governorship races. For ordinary residents, the election period is also when promises on jobs, roads, markets and security are made and tested.
The party did not say how many members had returned or give details of the disagreements it settled. The sources also differ on the election year in one line, with one report referring to 2025 while both describe the contest as the 2027 general elections.
What happens next
The APC says its reconciliation efforts will continue while its candidates campaign across the state ahead of the January poll and the 2027 general elections.
