APC disqualifies Omisore, Alabi, Five Others from Osun Guber Primary

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 hopefuls from participating in the Osun State governorship primary scheduled for December 13, 2025.

Also barred from the contest are Dotun Babayemi, Akin Ogunbiyi, Senator Babajide Omoworare, Kunle Adegoke (SAN) and Babatunde Haketer Oralusi.

The decision was contained in the report of the seven-member screening committee chaired by Barrister Obinna Uzor, which was submitted on Friday to the organisation department of the party. Only two aspirants — Hon. Mulikat Adeola Jimoh and Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji — were fully cleared after the committee ruled that they met all requirements stipulated in the APC Constitution, party guidelines and the Electoral Act.

However, the panel forwarded the names of the disqualified aspirants to the National Working Committee (NWC) for a final review and possible clearance ahead of the primary.

According to the committee, its work was influenced by a petition filed by the Osun APC Renewal Group, which had asked for the disqualification of two aspirants over failure to meet mandatory nominator requirements. The panel said the issues raised were “weighty and germane”, prompting it to apply the same level of scrutiny to all nine aspirants to ensure fairness and uniformity.

The six-page report, endorsed by all members of the committee, explained that each aspirant’s nominators were assessed based on compliance with Articles 9.3(i) and 31.2(ii) of the APC Constitution and Paragraph 6(c) of the party’s guidelines, which require sponsorship by at least five fully registered and financially up-to-date party members from each Local Government Area in the state.

At the conclusion of the process, only Jimoh and Oyebamiji met every requirement, while Omisore, Omoworare, Babayemi, Ogunbiyi, Alabi, Adegoke and Oralusi were found to have fallen short of the mandatory nominator rule.

Meanwhile, the Screening Appeal Committee chaired by Senator Tola Odebiyi will sit on Saturday in Abuja to hear petitions from the seven disqualified aspirants and any other aggrieved members of the party.