OPEN LETTER TO SENATOR TESLIM FOLARIN SENATOR FOLARIN: YOU CANNOT CAMPAIGN FOR TINUBU IN A BURNING OYO APC
Dear Distinguished Senator,
We write as members of the Coalition for Oyo APC Renewal (COAR), a concerned coalition of party members and stakeholders who are deeply worried about the deteriorating state of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State.
We have followed with interest your efforts as the party's 2023 governorship candidate in Oyo State and as the coordinator of the Renewed Hope Agenda in the state. We are also aware of your recent meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu regarding the mobilisation of support for his re-election in 2027.
Our message to you is simple and direct:
You cannot successfully campaign for President Tinubu in Oyo State while the APC structure is burning.
The controversy surrounding the party's recent primary elections has created deep anger, suspicion and division. Results have allegedly not been transparently declared, while candidates are being presented in circumstances that have left many aspirants and party members feeling cheated, ignored and politically disenfranchised.
Yet, instead of urgently resolving this crisis, the National Leadership appears more interested in moving ahead as though nothing has happened.
That is a dangerous political miscalculation.
You cannot demand loyalty from members whose grievances you refuse to hear. You cannot ask aggrieved aspirants to mobilise for candidates they believe were imposed upon them. And you cannot build a presidential campaign on the ruins of a fractured party structure.
Let us be clear: if this crisis is not resolved, the consequences will go beyond the disputed primary elections.
There may be widespread anti-party activities, voter apathy, silent sabotage, rejection of unpopular candidates, defections, loss of grassroots mobilisation and a general collapse of enthusiasm for the APC.
Many aggrieved members may not openly defect or publicly campaign against the party. They may simply withdraw their support, remain at home on election day or quietly vote for alternatives.
That silent rebellion could be devastating.
The President must therefore be told the truth about Oyo State. A few meetings with selected individuals cannot erase the grievances of thousands of party members. The crisis cannot be solved by pretending that the party is united.
We urge you to use your access to Mr. President to demand urgent intervention in Oyo APC.
The way forward is clear: transparency in the declaration of primary election results, fair resolution of genuine grievances, an inclusive reconciliation process, and an end to the imposition of candidates without due process.
Senator Folarin, if you genuinely desire the success of President Tinubu in Oyo State, then your first assignment should not merely be to campaign for him. It should be to help save the party structure that is expected to deliver the votes.
No campaign machinery can replace angry party members. No slogan can substitute for trust. And no presidential candidate can expect maximum support from a state chapter whose members feel abandoned by their own party.
This is not a threat. It is a warning based on the political reality on the ground.
If the Oyo APC crisis remains unresolved, the 2027 elections may become a referendum—not only on the candidates presented by the party, but also on the impunity and injustice that party members believe they have suffered.
The President may still secure victory in Oyo State. The APC may still win the governorship and legislative elections. But that will only happen if the National Leadership acts decisively and urgently.
Ignore Oyo APC at your own political peril.
The crisis must be resolved before the campaign begins—not after the party has lost the election.
Signed:
Hon. Rasak Raji Gbadamosi
Chairman
Coalition for Oyo APC Renewal (COAR)
Surveyor Christopher Tade Adewusi
Secretary
Coalition for Oyo APC Renewal (COAR)
For and on behalf of concerned members and stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State.
