The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, has attributed the party’s defeat in the 2023 governorship election to internal divisions, particularly the prolonged disagreement between supporters of Senator Teslim Folarin and former governorship aspirant Adebayo Adelabu.
Adeyemo, who served as deputy governor under the late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi, said the party’s impressive performance in the National Assembly elections had created expectations that it would also win the governorship poll, but internal conflicts undermined its chances.
Speaking in an interview, the former deputy governor said the APC won all three senatorial seats in Oyo State and nine of the 14 House of Representatives seats in the 2023 elections.
According to him, the party’s performance at the federal legislative level made its eventual loss of the governorship election particularly painful.
“We believed we had won the governorship election. But that was not the case. We lost the governorship election because of conflict. It was very painful to have lost that election,” Adeyemo said.
He identified the disagreement between Folarin, the APC’s governorship candidate, and Adelabu, who had also contested for the party’s ticket, as a major factor in the crisis.
Adeyemo said the dispute persisted for a long time, resulting in divisions among party members and supporters ahead of the election.
“Our main conflict was between Senator Teslim Folarin and Bayo Adelabu, Penkelemesi. The conflict lingered for a long time,” he said.
According to Adeyemo, some of Adelabu’s supporters left the APC for the Accord Party, under which Adelabu contested the governorship election, while some who remained in the APC did not support Folarin at the polls.
“The supporters of Penkelemesi decided to join Accord. Those who did not join Accord did not vote for Teslim,” he said.
He further claimed that some of Adelabu’s supporters voted for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), contributing to the APC’s defeat.
“Most of Adelabu’s supporters voted for the PDP. It was APC members who made the PDP win. That was the summary of what happened in 2023,” Adeyemo said.
The PDP’s Seyi Makinde won the election with 563,756 votes, defeating Folarin, who polled 256,685 votes.
Adeyemo said the APC subsequently established a reconciliation committee led by Senator Olufemi Lanlehin to address the disagreements and restore unity within the party.
He disclosed that the committee submitted reports covering the governorship primary and the State and National Assembly elections, expressing optimism that implementing its recommendations would help resolve lingering grievances.
“Once we implement the recommendations of the committee, all will be fine. We will approach the elections as a formidable party,” he said.
The APC chairman also acknowledged that defeating an incumbent governor was a challenge, but expressed confidence in the party’s ability to compete in future elections.
His comments come amid continuing efforts by the Oyo APC leadership to strengthen internal cohesion and reconcile aggrieved members following past electoral setbacks.
