The crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Oyo State has deepened as Dr Gbemileke Alagbe and Taofeeq Adegoke have continued to lay competing claims to the party’s governorship ticket ahead of the 2027 election.
While Alagbe insisted that he emerged from the May 22, 2026 governorship primary monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies, Adegoke maintained that his name is on the INEC portal as the party’s governorship candidate.
Adegoke, who recently unveiled his campaign structure, said his listing on the INEC portal should settle the controversy. He said: “My name is on the INEC portal as the governorship candidate of the ADC in Oyo State. I therefore do not understand why Alagbe is still bent on creating confusion and causing issues within the party.”
He stated that he had reached out to Alagbe in an attempt to resolve the dispute, adding that he even offered to support his senatorial ambition. According to him: “My intention was not to fight Alagbe or anybody. I wanted us to find a political solution that would accommodate everybody and prevent this controversy from becoming a major problem for the ADC.”
Adegoke also accused Alagbe of worsening the crisis by publicly challenging the party’s position, alleging that some individuals opposed to the progress of the ADC were encouraging the disagreement. He, however, said he remained open to reconciliation based on respect for the party’s processes.
But Alagbe in a separate interview dismissed the claim, insisting that he won the May 22 primary among the five aspirants who contested. He said the exercise was monitored by INEC and security agencies and that he had both the result and certificate of return to support his position.
“The ADC governorship primary was conducted on May 22, 2026. The primary was monitored by INEC and all the relevant security agencies. I emerged as the winner of the primary from among the five aspirants who contested. I was declared the winner, and I have the certificate of return to prove it,” Alagbe said.
He argued that anyone challenging his emergence should seek legal redress rather than use the media or party structures to create another claim. He said, “If they were genuinely challenging my victory, they would have gone to court or taken steps to invalidate the result and the report of the primary.”
He also rejected the suggestion that the national leadership could simply determine the governorship candidate, insisting that the law and the outcome of a valid primary should prevail. “The national leadership does not determine who the candidate is. The law determines that,” he said.
Alagbe, however, acknowledged that the continued division could damage the ADC’s chances in the 2027 election, urging members to reconcile.
