The All Progressives Congress (APC) has disqualified former Deputy Governor and ex–National Secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore; another former Deputy Governor, Benedict Olugboyega Alabi; and four other governorship aspirants from participating in its December 13, 2025 primary election in Osun State.
Others affected include Dotun Babayemi, Akin Ogunbiyi, Senator Babajide Omoworare, Kunle Adegoke (SAN), and Babatunde Haketer Oralusi.
In a report submitted on Friday to the party’s Organization Department, the seven-member screening committee led by Barrister Obinna Uzor disclosed that only two aspirants — Hon. Mulikat Adeola Jimoh and Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji — met all requirements for the primary.
According to the panel, the two cleared aspirants “fulfilled regulatory conditions as stipulated by the party’s guidelines, Constitution, and the Electoral Act,” and were therefore granted full approval to contest.
However, the six disqualified aspirants have been referred to the National Working Committee (NWC) for further review and possible reconsideration. The committee explained in its six-page report that its decision followed a petition from the Osun APC Renewal Group, which alleged that at least two aspirants failed to meet the mandatory nominator requirements set by the party’s Constitution and guidelines.
The committee stated that “after careful consideration, the issues raised in the petition were found to be weighty and relevant to the integrity of the screening process.” It added that, in the interest of fairness and equal treatment, the same standards were applied to all nine aspirants.
The panel reviewed every nominator attached to each aspirant to ensure compliance with Articles 9.3(i) and 31.2(ii) of the APC Constitution and Paragraph 6(c) of the Governorship Primary Guidelines.
At the conclusion of the two-day screening, the committee confirmed that only Jimoh and Oyebamiji “satisfactorily met all constitutional and guideline requirements of the APC, including valid nomination by the required number of fully registered and financially up-to-date party members from each Local Government Area.”
It noted that Senators Omisore and Omoworare, along with Babayemi, Ogunbiyi, Alabi, Adegoke, and Oralusi, did not meet the mandatory condition of being nominated by at least five financially compliant party members from each local government as required by the party’s Constitution and the 2025 Primary Guidelines.
