President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday held a meeting with former Senate Leader and former Oyo State APC governorship candidate, Teslim Folarin, in what is seen as part of efforts to strengthen unity within the party ahead of the 2027 governorship election in Oyo State.
The meeting, which took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, is believed to be aimed at securing Folarin’s support for the APC’s governorship candidate, Sharafadeen Alli, as the party intensifies reconciliation among its members.
Folarin was the APC governorship candidate in the 2023 election but lost to Governor Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). His ambition to contest again in 2027 ended after he did not participate in the party’s primary election that produced Alli as the APC candidate.
Alli emerged as the party’s flag bearer after a competitive selection process involving several aspirants, including former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu. He was officially presented as the APC governorship candidate alongside his running mate, Adesoji Adedeji, during a ceremony in Ibadan on July 2.
Although party leaders backed Alli’s emergence as a consensus candidate, the process generated disagreements within the APC. Adelabu and some other aspirants questioned the outcome and called on the party’s national leadership to formally conclude the primary process before announcing any consensus arrangement.
Several aggrieved aspirants, including members of a group known as the G5, also expressed dissatisfaction with the selection process and called for internal reconciliation.
Since then, the APC leadership has intensified efforts to unite party stakeholders, warning that unresolved internal disputes could affect the party’s chances of reclaiming Oyo State from the PDP in the 2027 election.
Sources familiar with the development said Tinubu’s meeting with Folarin formed part of these reconciliation efforts, given the former senator’s influence within the party and his support base across the state.
According to the source, the President assured Folarin that his political associates would be considered in future political arrangements at both the state and federal levels.
Folarin is also expected to meet with his supporters to brief them on the outcome of his discussions with the President.
The APC is seeking to regain control of Oyo State after losing the governorship to Governor Seyi Makinde in 2019 and failing to reclaim the seat during the 2023 election.
Party leaders believe that presenting a united front behind Sharafadeen Alli will improve the APC’s chances of victory in the 2027 governorship race.
