Three former Osun lawmakers resign from APC

Three former members of the Osun State House of Assembly have resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), ending their association with the party after years of political involvement.

The affected party chieftains are Lekan Oyediran, Aleem Bakare and Folorunso Oladoyin, who submitted separate resignation letters to the APC chairmen in their respective local government areas.

The resignations were made between June 1 and June 2. While Bakare attributed his decision to what he described as a lack of internal democracy within the party, Oyediran and Oladoyin did not state any reasons for their departure.

Oyediran represented Odo Otin State Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly between 1999 and 2003, while Bakare served as the lawmaker for Ejigbo State Constituency from 2003 to 2007. Oladoyin represented Ife South State Constituency between 2011 and 2019.

The development adds to the recent political changes within the APC in Osun State, as the party continues to prepare for future political contests.

Checks by Very Nigerian indicated that Oyediran represented Odo Otin State Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly between 1999 and 2003, while Aleem Bakare was in the parliament representing Ejigbo State Constituency between 2003 and 2007.

Folorunso Oladoyin, representing Ife South State Constituency in the Assembly between 2011 and 2019, went on to serve as the State Commissioner for Education in the administration of ex governor Adegboyega Oyetola til the government exited office on November 26, 2022.

Bakare also served in Oyetola administration as the Special Adviser to the governor on Land Matters.

All the three ex lawmakers were however linked to the ex National Secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore, who had kept his distance from the party since the conclusion of the governorship primary of APC in December, 2025.

But while speaking with Very Nigerian on Wednesday on the development, the spokesperson of the Senator Iyiola Omisore Campaign Organisation, Jamiu Olawumi, admitted that the three former lawmakers the dumped APC were close allies of Omisore.

Olawumi, however, said the ex-Osun State Deputy Governor never instructed them to dump APC, adding that they must have arrived at the decision to move on, after considering their future in politics.

He also dismissed insinuations that Omisore may soon dump APC, saying “The anxiety is unfounded and baseless. We support Iyiola Omisore for his governorship ambition. Anyway, we went for him, we saw his capacity and capability, that is why we went to invite him to come and contest.

“So, if the outcome of the contest amounts to our strongest defence line being removed, people who cannot withstand the shock could leave the party, and could also leave his camp to join the winning camp.

“That does not mean Omisore is leaving the party, because Omisore was not our breadwinner. We are political associates. So, people who want to be mischievous, and who are taking the animosity that far, they say his men are leaving, that he was going to leave.

“Those who left are Oyetola’s men too. Bamisayemi (Oladoyin) was a Commissioner for education under Oyetola. While Oyetola is losing his cabinet member, Omisore is also losing his supporters. These are the inner members of the caucus of Oyetola now who are leaving the party. It is not about Omisore but about their conviction that the party had not fulfilled their dreams and they cannot realise their dreams and aspirations within the party.”

Reacting, Osun APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, said the party was not in panic mode, noting that those that left simply exercise their freedom of association.

Olabisi also said Osun APC had recieved bigwigs from especially the Peoples Democratic Party than the number of those that decided to walk away from its fold, urging members to remain focus and work harder for its success in the future elections.

He further said, “In a democracy, there is a free exit and free entry into politics, and one can exercise one’s fundamental freedom of association at any time. You can’t begrudge anybody. If people are making a fuss over those three people, can you equate them with two senators – Fadahunsi and Ajagunla and three representative members who came to our party together with the member of the trustee of the PDP – Shuaib Oyedokun?

“How about Prince Dotun Babayemi, Kayode Oduoye and a host of others? We are not panicking in any way. They are only exercising their freedom of association. We cannot deny them.

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