A retired military officer and international businessman, Dr. Gbenga Adegbola, who has declared interest in contesting the 2027 governorship election in Oyo State under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has warned that the party risks failure in future elections if it does not embrace unity and allow grassroots members to freely select credible candidates.
He said this while speaking in an interview with Mayor Isaac Brown on Fresh FM, Ibadan, on Saturday.
Adegbola stressed that “internal cohesion and grassroots mobilization are non-negotiable to achieve victory in the 2027 elections.”
He blamed the party’s defeat in the recent by-election on disunity, insisting that APC must return to genuine reconciliation and listening leadership.
His words: “We need caring, listening leaders and genuine reconciliation. We need to correct the abnormalities during the primary election. We lost the grip of caring and listening leaders. When you don’t listen as a leader, you will have problem. We can’t be doing things the same way and expect different results,”
Adegbola also rejected the culture of imposition of candidates, warning that it would only guarantee more losses.
“People have to go to the field and select a credible and popular candidate. I played my role to ensure it was free and fair. Oyo State is not like other states. It is dynamic, unique as well as sophisticated.
“If you can hijack the process from Abuja in 2023 and it didn’t lead to anything positive, you do the same thing in the bye-election and similar things happened, definitely in future elections, if imposition occurs, the party will fail again. We are not in a state where ‘jagba’ can work,” he declared.
On the question of power shift ahead of the 2027 election, the aspirant insisted that competence and vision should take precedence over zoning.
“It should not necessarily be a matter of region or zone. It should be based on right qualification, competency, capacity and vision. We should also look at antecedents and the deliverables such person has given to the people in the past,” he said.
While acknowledging some achievements of the present administration, Adegbola promised to chart a more inclusive and economically vibrant path for the state. He lamented that Oke-Ogun’s resources have been ignored for too long.
“There are so many things that need to be done and there are concerns about sustainability of some projects as well as the need for more inclusive growth.”
“My administration would build on the positive while introducing a more robust and strategic as well as people-oriented approach to governance, which would truly transform Oyo State and bring about accelerated sustainability development.”
“My focus would be on sustainability of ongoing projects as well as the need for more inclusive growth that would benefit the average citizenry,” he explained.
The governorship hopeful added: “The current administration’s lack of zeal to unlock the economic potentials in Oke-Ogun zone… they remain untapped.”
Assuring that his government would uphold APC’s core policies if elected, Adegbola pledged to deepen grassroots governance and partnership with local institutions.
“I would implement local government autonomy in line with the policy of the party, and strengthen ties with the traditional rulers and religious leaders,” he concluded.
