With memories of factional fights and bloodied primaries still fresh in the minds of party faithful, the Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress is reportedly moving quietly but deliberately toward adopting consensus arrangements for selecting its next leadership and candidates.
A party source confirmed exclusively to westernmirror.com.ng on Sunday that the decision is driven by a single, urgent calculation to avoid another primary that tears the party apart, similar to 2023, and hands advantage to rivals.
The source disclosed further that what began as a debate about internal democracy has shifted into an argument about survival within the party hierarchy.
This online newspaper understands that the opposition party in Oyo state have set machinery in motion to elect new leadership to pilot its affairs for a term of four years in line with the APC Constitution.
The trigger for the shift was said to be the chaotic fallout from recent delegate selections and primaries tied to the Ibadan North by-election, which were marred by allegations of imposition, manipulation, and needless confrontation between rival camps. Those events, insiders say, convinced a critical mass of stakeholders that consensus is the safer route.
The push for consensus, according to the source, is not being framed as a surrender of principles. Instead, it is being sold inside the party as tough-minded strategy to prevent any exercise that may further polarize the party along different factional interests.
Another senior APC figure in Ibadan told this online newspaper that a managed, negotiated selection process was argued to be the best way to preserve alliances, reduce litigation risk, and limit the kind of street-level clashes that have previously cost votes and reputations.
One of the sources, an elderly party man, described the mood by saying: “We cannot rebuild while we are still burning bridges.”
Several aspirants who rejected the outcome of the recent primary in Ibadan North have publicly warned that perceived imposition of candidates will fuel defections, a warning party leaders do not want to test in another general election cycle.
For the sources however, the memory that informs this choice is the violence and fragmentation that attended APC’s run-up to the 2023 elections. Election monitors and conflict researchers documented a spike in political violence during that period, and in Oyo specifically there were clashes that resulted in injuries and a security presence that could not fully restore calm.
The source explained further that those scenes are frequently invoked in private conversations among party leaders as proof that contested primaries can become existential threats to party cohesion going into 2027.
But beyond the lessons from the past, several recent high-level meetings among the party’s major power blocs are said to be accelerating the drive toward a consensus arrangement.
Over the last few weeks, separate consultations have taken place in Ibadan involving factional leaders including the Minister of Power, Chief Bayo Adelabu; former lawmaker and 2023 governorship candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin; and Engr. Rauf Olaniyan, a former deputy to Governor Seyi Makinde.
According to information gathered, all the meetings were held under the quiet coordination of former Oyo First Lady, Chief (Mrs.) Florence Ajimobi, wife of the late former governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi. Her residence in Ibadan has once again become a neutral ground and a reconciliatory space where rival interests meet to weigh the cost of continued disunity.
Sources close to the talks say the atmosphere of the meetings has been largely cordial, though laced with cautious optimism. The central focus, according to those privy to the talks, was unity and the urgent need to harmonize political interests before and after the anticipated party primary ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“It’s not just about who becomes what,” one of the sources reportedly said. “It’s about whether we even remain a viable opposition in Oyo to take back power from the PDP if this infighting continues.”
While some camps are reportedly still skeptical about whether old wounds can be fully healed, the tone of the conversations was said to indicate a growing realization that reconciliation is not just desirable but necessary for survival.
The involvement of Mrs. Ajimobi, also viewed as a matriarchal unifier within the party, has also added weight and credibility to the reconciliation efforts.
Not everyone, however, is convinced consensus will work, the source stated adding that a vocal minority of younger aspirants and grassroots movements within the party may reject closed-door bargains, saying they will only entrench old networks and deny fresh talent a chance come 2027.
The source pointed to cases where purportedly negotiated candidates still triggered protest and defections because stakeholders felt shortchanged. Whether Oyo APC can strike a balance between inclusivity and peace will depend on how transparent and credible its consensus process is made to appear, critics say.
National political trends are also encouraging the move. Across the country, some state chapters have experimented with consensus arrangements to prevent the costly court cases and on-the-ground clashes that follow bruising primaries.
Party leaders in Abuja have, at times reportedly signaled a preference for negotiated outcomes in sensitive contests. That national posture reportedly gives Oyo opposition leaders political cover to try to manage aspirants and ward off a repeat of the 2023 turbulence.
The source said meetings between different factional leaders in Oyo APC, former office holders, and local power brokers are being quietly scheduled over the next few weeks to broker candidate lists and an agreed leadership slate.
“The tests are simple at this point,” the source said, “and that is, will aggrieved aspirants accept offered consolation posts, and will rank-and-file members accept leaders chosen by consensus without feeling disenfranchised?
“If the answers are mostly yes, Oyo APC will have bought itself a calmer path to the next election. If not, the party still risks repeating a familiar pattern where unresolved grievances explode just when unity is most needed.”
“For now, I believe the choice to jettison open primaries in favour of consensus is both a tactical retreat and a strategic gamble,” the source remarked.