Three Ex-Osun Lawmakers Dump APC

Three chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who previously served as lawmakers in the Osun State House of Assembly, have resigned from the party.

Naija News reports that the former lawmakers are Lekan Oyediran, Aleem Bakare and Folorunso Oladoyin.

They resigned their APC membership through separate letters addressed to the party chairmen in their local government areas.

The resignations occurred between June 1 and 2.

Of the three former lawmakers, only Bakare gave a reason for leaving the party, citing a lack of internal democracy.

Oyediran and Oladoyin did not state reasons for their resignations in their letters.

According to Punch, checks showed that Oyediran represented Odo Otin State Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly between 1999 and 2003.

Bakare represented Ejigbo State Constituency between 2003 and 2007, while Oladoyin represented Ife South State Constituency between 2011 and 2019.

Oladoyin later served as Commissioner for Education under former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola until the administration left office on November 26, 2022.

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

The three former lawmakers were linked to a former National Secretary of the APC, Senator Iyiola Omisore, who has kept his distance from the party since the conclusion of the Osun APC governorship primary in December 2025.

Speaking with The Punch on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Senator Iyiola Omisore Campaign Organisation, Jamiu Olawumi, confirmed that the former lawmakers were close allies of Omisore.

He, however, said the former Osun State deputy governor did not ask them to leave the APC.

‘Omisore Not Leaving APC’

Olawumi dismissed claims that Omisore may soon leave the party.

“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,” he said.

He said some members may have been disappointed by the outcome of the governorship contest and decided to leave.

Olawumi further stated, “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.”

Olawumi added that the resignations should not be interpreted only as a loss for Omisore.

He stated, “Those who left are Oyetola’s men too. Bamisayemi was a Commissioner for Education under Oyetola. While Oyetola is losing his cabinet member, Omisore is also losing his supporters.

“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.”

APC Says No Panic

Reacting, the Osun APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, said the party was not in panic mode.

He said those who resigned merely exercised their freedom of association.

“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,” he said.

Olabisi argued that the APC had received more political heavyweights from the Peoples Democratic Party than the number of those leaving.

He asked, “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.”