2027 Election: Is APC Governor Sponsoring Opposition Candidates? Facts Emerge
- Ondo Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa addressed APC chairmen on Monday in Akure following allegations that he was backing rival party candidates
- The governor recalled a disputed 2019 APC primary result as proof of his long-standing respect for party authority
- State APC Chairman Babatunde Kolawole warned that intelligence had been gathered on acts of disloyalty within the party
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Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over eight years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has pushed back against claims that he is sabotaging his own party's candidates after the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) substituted his preferred picks for National Assembly seats.
The governor described those behind the rumours as "naysayers, blackmailers and slanderers."
Source: Twitter
As reported by Vanguard, he addressed the allegations on Monday, September 7, 2026, at a stakeholders' meeting with APC local government and ward chairmen in Akure.
Reports had circulated suggesting Aiyedatiwa was quietly funding candidates in other political parties as a form of protest against the APC's national leadership. The governor rejected the claims outright.
"I have zero tolerance for anti-party. I have never engaged in anti-party in my life," he said. "I have not asked any candidate to contest in any other party."
Aiyedatiwa points to decades of APC loyalty
To back his claim, the governor pointed to his political history, noting that he chose to align with the Alliance for Democracy and later the Action Congress of Nigeria even when the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party held firm control in his senatorial district.
He also revisited a painful episode from the 2019 APC governorship primary, saying he won that exercise, but the national leadership overturned the outcome. Rather than break ranks, he said he accepted the decision and took it as a lesson in party discipline.
"The party leadership was supreme. That experience taught me the need for members to respect the authority and decisions of the leadership," he said.
Aiyedatiwa directed the 18 local government chairmen and 203 ward chairmen present at the meeting to ramp up grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections, reminding them that election outcomes are decided at polling units, not at the top of the party structure.
"Elections are won at the polling units. And the polling units are right there in the ward. And you are the ward chairmen. You are occupying a significant role in party structure," he said.
He also instructed ward chairmen and secretaries to hold regular internal meetings and drew a clear line between mobilisation and anti-party conduct.
"So, no to anti-party. Let's support Mr President and all the candidates of our party," he added.
APC chairman warns of consequences for disloyalty
State APC Chairman Babatunde Kolawole reinforced the governor's message, calling for complete loyalty to both Aiyedatiwa and the party. He said intelligence had been gathered on members engaged in disloyal behaviour and warned that those found culpable would face consequences.
Kolawole also commended the governor for doubling allowances for ward, local government, and state executive members of the party.
Speaking on behalf of the local government chairmen, Oluwadare Fadumo praised Aiyedatiwa's support for councils, market women, and young people.
"We want to thank you because this is the first time this is happening in the history of politics in Ondo State."
The governor said the positive feedback on his administration's work would push the government to speed up projects still underway.
Source: Twitter
Group backs Governor Aiyedatiwa
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that the National Rebirth Agenda called out the Ondo Redemption Front as a politically motivated group working to undermine Governor Aiyedatiwa.
The group cited about 190km of roads, 2,100 teachers recruited, and upgrades to over 100 health centres as proof of the governor's record.
The National Rebirth Agenda urged those behind the anti-Aiyedatiwa campaign to redirect their energy toward President Tinubu's 2027 re-election bid.
Source: Legit.ng
