The Oyo Rising Citizens Forum (ORCF) has strongly condemned a joint statement by Senator Teslim Folarin, Chief Bayo Adelabu, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, and former Deputy Governor Rauf Olaniyan pledging to work only for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu, labelling their actions a hypocritical and anti-party posture ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The group, in a press statement signed by Aderemi Adebisi and Owolabi, demanded an explanation for this political stance by the quartet, saying that the statement issued was contradictory and smacked of hypocrisy.
“While the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Oyo State has already constituted a committee to reconcile all aggrieved aspirants and party members ahead of the general election in 2027, the protest today by some loyalists of Chief Bayo Adelabu and also a meeting held among Senator Teslim Folarin, Chief Bayo Adelabu, Senator Fatai Buhari and former Oyo Deputy Governor Rauf Olaniyan, where all of them concluded that they would only work to deliver Oyo State for President Bola Tinubu come 2027, smacks of hypocrisy and divided loyalty, which even the President, as a true democrat, will not accept,” the ORCF statement said.
ORCF accused the quartet of refusing to accept the party’s primary election that produced Senator Sharafadeen Alli as the APC governorship candidate for Oyo State.
The group described the meeting and the message issued by the four politicians as undermining party unity and warned that President Bola Tinubu would not tolerate divided allegiance from APC members in the state.
“It is so unfortunate that these individuals have refused to accept the will of God over the emergence of Senator Sharafadeen Alli as the party’s governorship candidate. One wonders why Senator Teslim Folarin, who once enjoyed unalloyed loyalty from Senator Alli during the last governorship election in Oyo State, has not uttered any statement in support of Senator Sharafadeen Alli,” the statement added.
ORCF therefore urged all aggrieved aspirants to embrace the spirit of sportsmanship and work for the overall success of the APC in Oyo State, reminding party members that a reconciliation committee is already in place to address grievances before the 2027 polls.
The group also used the opportunity to criticise the current state government, saying Oyo State “deserves better” than the present administration under Governor Seyi Makinde.
ORCF described Senator Sharafadeen Alli as “a man of integrity and a grassroots politician who will bring succour to the people of the state.”
Condemning the joint statement by Folarin, Adelabu, Buhari and Olaniyan, ORCF said the communiqué’s wording, framed as an announcement of their meeting “to deliberate on strategies for working closely with other stakeholders of the great party to ensure the successful delivery of Oyo State for President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general election”, is disingenuous.
The group argued that the message attempts to position the four as kingmakers while simultaneously undermining their party’s chosen governorship candidate.
ORCF called on the APC hierarchy in Oyo State and at the national level to take decisive steps to check factionalism, enforce party discipline and ensure that all members publicly commit to working for party unity and the success of the endorsed candidates.