Leaders of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in the South West have asked the party’s national leadership to immediately remove Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as Interim National Secretary, accusing him of brazen constitutional violations that are threatening the party ahead of 2027.

The South West leaders, in a petition dated July 28, 2026, signed by state chairmen from across the zone and addressed to the National Chairman, said they resolved during an emergency meeting in Ibadan that Aregbesola’s conduct had plunged the ADC into avoidable crises.

DAILY POST reports that copies of the letter, signed by Olusoji Adebiyi, Ogun State Secretary; Abideen Okanlawon, Osun State Acting Chairman; Adesola Akitunde, Osun State Youth Leader; Yinka Olona, Oyo State Chairman; Adebimpe Adelowo, Oyo State member; Ilesanmi Olaiya, Ekiti State Chairman, among others, were copied to the National Working Committee (NWC), National Executive Committee (NEC), the party’s 2027 presidential candidate, the vice-presidential candidate, and the National Legal Adviser.

The chairmen alleged that Aregbesola created a parallel structure across South West states under the name “Omoluabi Progressive” and began parading officers of the splinter group as legitimate ADC executives from the ward to the state level, asserting that this directly contravenes the ADC constitution.

They cited Article 22, Section 1 (2, 3, 8, 9, 10 and 11) of the party’s constitution, listing offences including breach of the constitution, acts likely to bring the party into disrepute, disobedience to lawful directives, creation of parallel organs, and collusion to convene unauthorised meetings.

The petitioners also accused the former Osun State governor of using his office to interfere in the party’s candidate selection process, alleging that on the last day for uploading National Assembly candidates, Aregbesola “colluded with some cohorts within INEC” to remove duly elected ADC candidates who emerged from INEC-monitored primaries and replace them with members of his Omoluabi Progressive group who never purchased nomination forms.

They also blamed Aregbesola for the lingering crises in Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states, alleging that he usurped the functions of the National Organising Secretary by appointing parallel primary election committees and submitting them to INEC.

Part of the petition reads:

“We, the undersigned State Chairmen of the South West Zone of the ADC, on behalf of the ADC South West Zonal Stakeholders, write to officially transmit our resolutions reached during the South West Zone emergency stakeholders’ meeting held on July 28, 2026, in Ibadan and equally request urgent action regarding the ceaseless, blatant violations and brazen breaches of our party’s constitution by OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA.

“OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA acted directly in contravention of our great party’s constitution by creating parallel party structures across the South West states, including local government areas and wards, under the name and style of Omoluabi Progressive, and parading the so-called officers of this splinter group as the legitimate structures and officers of our great party across the South West, contrary to the provisions of the party constitution.

“His actions and activities do not in any way befit the status, carriage, disposition and character expected of any person occupying the high-ranking and sensitive position of National Secretary of a great party like the ADC.

“We equally learnt from reliable sources that OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA used his position as National Secretary to collude with some of his cohorts within INEC to, on July 14, 2026, the last day for uploading National Assembly candidates, unlawfully infiltrate the party’s system and fraudulently substitute the names of successful National Assembly candidates who emerged through INEC-monitored primary elections across the South West and other zones of the country with members of his Omoluabi Progressive splinter group, who did not even purchase nomination forms in the first place.”

The South West ADC leaders demanded that the coalition leadership review Aregbesola’s appointment and relieve him of his position, urging it to present a new, “competent, loyal and patriotic” replacement.

“OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA is not fit to hold the position of Interim National Secretary. His continued stay in office will spell doom for the party.

“We therefore request the coalition leadership to review the appointment of OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA as Interim National Secretary, relieve him of this position, and request the APC extraction of the coalition to present a new, suitable person who is competent, loyal, amiable, patriotic and possesses the native intelligence required to lead the South West zone and the ADC to victory in 2027,” the petition added.

They urged the NWC and NEC to act urgently to stem the crisis and save the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Stakeholders and residents in Osun State have expressed concern over the cancellation of the planned Osun 2026 Governorship Debate.

The stakeholders said the development has denied voters an opportunity to assess the programmes and policies of candidates ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

The debate, scheduled for Saturday, August 1, in Osogbo, was called off after the organisers cited security concerns and the reluctance of some leading governorship candidates to participate under the prevailing circumstances.

The event was jointly organised by Uniq FM, Rave FM, Diamond FM and Fresh FM.

In a statement, the organisers said “the decision was reached unanimously following unfavourable security reports and the unwillingness of some major candidates to attend the debate.”

They explained that “the cancellation was necessary to safeguard participants, invited guests, journalists and members of the public.”

The debate was expected to feature governorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, African Democratic Congress, ADC, Accord and the African Action Congress, AAC, providing an opportunity for them to present their manifestoes and respond to public questions before the election.

The organisers also noted that the decision followed reports of security concerns in parts of Osun State, adding that public safety remained their priority.

They thanked residents and stakeholders for their understanding and promised to communicate any future arrangements through appropriate channels.

Following the announcement, several residents reacted, with many expressing disappointment over the inability of the leading candidates to publicly present their plans for the state before the electorate.

Media executive and civil society advocate Jare Tiamiyu criticised the absence of the candidates from the debate, describing it as a missed opportunity for democratic engagement.

“It’s highly unfortunate that leading governorship candidates in Osun are avoiding scrutiny. It’s obvious that they intentionally orchestrate and sustain crisis to cover discussion on their agenda. So sad!” Tiamiyu wrote on his social media page.

Responding to the post, a resident identified as Mayowa argued that the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, was preparing for a separate debate with Channels Television rather than the cancelled event.

Mayowa wrote, “My party governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO), is preparing for a debate with an independent television station whose founder is not an appointee of Mr President or any governor. Rave FM, Fresh FM and Westerspring Television can invite AAC, SDP or Accord to their debate.”

Another resident, AbdulAzeez Ismail, also expressed concern over the development, saying governorship aspirants should be willing to explain their agenda directly to the electorate before seeking their votes.

The cancellation of the debate comes less than two weeks before the Osun governorship election.

Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT has alleged that some politicians took advantage of the incumbent governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, triggering the protracted political crisis in the state.

Wike, a former governor of Rivers State spoke on Saturday during a special media chat in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

The Minister stated that those who allegedly deceived Fubara into engaging in face-off with him, know that they have no capacity to fight.

According to Wike, the governor over rated the politicians, whom he said are now raining insult on Fubara for deciding to return to his former political family.

He said, “Unfortunately, they used Fubara. To tell you the truth, the governor over rated them. They had no capacity at all to fight and they saw it.

“Now, when the governor decided to return to his political family, go and see how they are abusing him now. Because there is no longer opportunity to syphon money so they are abusing him,” he said.