According to reports, Adelabu is purportedly collaborating with the APC delegate congress committee to sideline the party’s internal democratic processes. The primary election, scheduled for Sunday, July 20, 2025, has become a focal point of controversy following claims that Adelabu is maneuvering to install his political ally, Mr. Wale Murphy—a former Accord Party member—as the APC’s flag bearer.
Murphy's swift reentry into the APC has drawn criticism from party loyalists and aspirants, who allege favoritism and backdoor dealings. Despite an earlier consensus among Oyo State APC members to adopt a direct primary system to ensure transparency, the APC National Secretariat overturned this decision, mandating an indirect primary instead.
Insider accounts suggest that both the Delegate Congress Committee, led by Dr. Galadima, and the Delegate Congress Appeal Committee were allegedly stationed at Josephine Hotel in Ikolaba, Ibadan, reportedly under Adelabu’s directive. Party members assert that these hotel meetings were utilized to finalize a pre-arranged delegate list intended to secure victory for Mr. Murphy.
The situation reached a tipping point when the Congress Committee convened a closed-door meeting with the Oyo State APC executive and aspirants at the party’s Oke-Ado Secretariat. The committee announced the cancellation of the scheduled delegate congress, informing stakeholders that a pre-approved delegate list—whose origins remain unclear—would be used for the primary election, directly contradicting the official timetable released by the APC National Secretariat.
A senior party figure, speaking anonymously, stated, “There are credible reports of significant sums exchanged between Chief Adelabu and members of the Delegate Committee. This is a calculated effort to impose Wale Murphy against the will of the party base in Ibadan North.”
These developments have ignited widespread outrage among APC members and House of Representatives aspirants, many of whom describe the process as “rigged from the start.” Concerns are growing that the manipulated primary could deepen divisions within the party, disenfranchise loyal members, and jeopardize the APC’s chances in the upcoming bye-election for the Ibadan North seat.
In response, party leaders and stakeholders are urging President Bola Tinubu and the APC National Secretariat to intervene decisively. “We are appealing to the President and our party’s leadership to act swiftly and halt this dangerous trajectory,” said a party chieftain. “What we need is a level playing field where delegates are chosen according to established guidelines, not a pre-arranged coronation orchestrated from a hotel room.”
The unfolding crisis within the Oyo APC underscores the challenges of maintaining internal democracy and unity, particularly as the party prepares for critical elections that could shape its future in the state.
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