Iyabo Obasanjo dumps APC months after losing governorship ticket

Former Senator and Ogun State governorship aspirant, Prof. Iyabo Obasanjo, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing what she described as persistent disrespect, rejection and unfair treatment by the party’s leadership in Ogun State.

Prof. Obasanjo, the daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, announced her resignation in a letter dated May 31, 2026, and addressed to the Ogun State APC Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi.

Her exit comes barely six months after joining the ruling party and approximately two months after losing the APC governorship ticket for the 2027 election in Ogun State.

The former lawmaker, who represented Ogun Central Senatorial District between 2007 and 2011, expressed dissatisfaction with the consensus process that produced Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as the party’s governorship candidate.

According to her, the process failed to comply with the APC’s established guidelines on consensus candidature.

She recalled that at the beginning of her governorship ambition, she publicly and privately assured party leaders that she would respect and abide by the outcome of any properly conducted consensus arrangement.

“When I started the journey to get the party’s nomination for governor, I came to see you and I said to you and everyone, both privately and publicly, that I would honour the party’s consensus decision once it had been made,” she stated.

Obasanjo alleged that some of her supporters were denied access to the venue where the consensus candidate was announced and accused party officials of overlooking her contributions to the party.

She said, “When that day came, even as violence was perpetrated against my supporters to stop them from entering the venue, I maintained my calmness.”

The former senator further argued that she was not consulted before the announcement of the consensus candidate and that her presence at the gathering was not acknowledged despite being a major contender in the race.

“At the venue, with no prior meeting with me as a candidate, given what the national party says in its guidelines on what consensus should be, a candidate was announced.

“No one acknowledged my presence at the meeting, given that I was the most prominent opposition to the candidate chosen and I had traversed the state mobilising and encouraging grassroots APC support,” she said.

Despite her reservations, Obasanjo said she accepted the outcome in the interest of party unity and immediately congratulated the party’s candidate.

She disclosed that Senator Adeola later reached out and requested a meeting with her supporters.

According to her, during the meeting, her supporters presented three requests, which she described as non-binding, while the APC candidate promised to respond within one week.

However, she lamented that more than two months after the meeting, no feedback had been received.

“Unless he gets back to me after I send this letter, he has not reached out to me after two months. This is just part of the general treatment I have received from APC of disrespect and rejection as if I was not there making contributions that increased support for the party in Ogun Central and across the state,” she said.

Announcing her resignation, Obasanjo declared that she could no longer remain in an environment where she felt unwanted.

“A famous person once said that when disrespect is the only dish served, then one should leave the table. I am therefore leaving the APC table where I am not welcomed. This is my resignation from the party,” she stated.

Despite her grievances, she expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and some party leaders for the cordial relationship she enjoyed during her brief stay in the APC.

“Through you, I want to thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for receiving me warmly as usual, and I thank you and our Ogun Central Senatorial Chairman, Chief Soremi, as both of you treated me well and I will always remember that,” she wrote.

Prof. Obasanjo formally joined the APC in January 2026 after registering in Ward 11, Ibogun, Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, marking her return to active partisan politics after years away from the political scene.

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