Adewale Adebayo is the Osun State Chairman of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and the party’s governorship candidate in the August 2026 governorship election. In this interview with Rukiyat Ogunwade, he speaks on the party’s preparation for the 2027 general elections, his decision to withdraw from the governorship race to support Governor Ademola Adeleke, and why he believes APM’s presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, will spring a surprise. Excerpt:
APM is relatively small compared with the APC and PDP in terms of political visibility and elected office holders. As State Chairman, how prepared is the party for the 2027 general elections across all levels?
I always feel hurt when people compare APM with the APC and PDP, which, in my view, have failed Nigerians in many areas of governance. I want to say with my full chest that APM is not a small party, and we are going to spring a surprise in the forthcoming 2027 general election.
We have been mobilising since after the 2023 general election, and our party is youth-oriented. The youths are the heartbeat of APM. We have deliberately built the party as a viable opposition alternative, and we are creating a structure that will make it difficult for the ruling APC or any other party to penetrate us with political manoeuvring.
The way we have galvanised the party has attracted people from different political backgrounds. We have seen politicians who were formerly associated with bigger parties embrace APM and contribute to its growth. That tells you that there is confidence in what we are building.
Our preparation is not limited to the governorship election. We are positioning ourselves for the presidential, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections. We are building a party that is rooted at the grassroots and driven by ordinary Nigerians.
What concrete structures has APM built nationally, in Osun and other states to compete effectively in the presidential, National Assembly, and State House of Assembly elections in 2027?
I have already made mention of some of them, but you don’t expect me to expose all the strength and strategy of our party on the pages of a newspaper. That will not happen.
What I can tell you is that the youths and women have been deliberately integrated into our structure ahead of the election. We are confident that APM will perform credibly well in the governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
We are carrying the youths along, particularly in the distribution of party tickets. Most of our candidates for the forthcoming general election are youths, and they are prepared to go all out to secure victory for the party.
We have also started integrating people in the informal sector into our party structure in Osun State. These are people who drive the economy and who feel the impact of bad governance directly. They understand the challenges facing the country because they experience them every day.
They are resolute about changing the narrative through their votes in 2027. We believe they will support our presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, and other APM candidates across the country.
You will be surprised by the result APM will garner in Osun State.
You mentioned the youth and informal-sector groups. How are you translating that mobilisation into actual voting strength, particularly at the polling-unit level?
Our approach is grassroots-based. We are not interested in having people on paper without connecting with them physically. We are taking our message to communities, wards, units and local government areas.
We are also educating voters on the electoral process and the importance of voting according to their convictions. Our message is simple: people should look beyond the size or age of a political party and examine what each party represents.
We are confident that when the ballot comes, the people who have joined us will identify the cassava logo of APM and vote for it.
Now Governor Ademola Adeleke has backed President Bola Tinubu and has also supported Accord’s candidates for some legislative seats. Do you think this will affect APM’s prospects in 2027?
Yes, we will get enough votes. In fact, what you described could create an opportunity for APM because, in our assessment, there is confusion regarding Adeleke’s political direction ahead of 2027.
Many people in Osun State will not necessarily vote for Accord because the party could not field candidates, while there are also people who are dissatisfied with the APC.
That creates a political space for APM. We will present ourselves as an alternative to voters who are looking for another platform.
APM will benefit from what I describe as Adeleke’s confusion over supporting Tinubu and Accord’s legislative candidates. The people should be wary of political calculations and examine what each candidate and party stands for.
Are you saying Governor Adeleke’s decision to support candidates outside his own political platform could affect the way his supporters vote in 2027?
That is what we are saying. Politics is about the people, and voters have the right to make their own decisions. When political alignments become complicated, voters begin to ask questions about where their interests are being represented.
We intend to take advantage of that political opening by presenting APM as an alternative. We are not going to rely on political confusion alone; we will have to convince the people with our programmes, candidates and grassroots structures.
As Chairman of APM in Osun, what are you doing to strengthen the party at the ward and local government levels after the last governorship election?
We have been going door-to-door across the three senatorial districts, the nine federal constituencies and the local government areas. We are also reaching the wards and polling units because that is where elections are actually won.
We have started voter education and mobilisation. We are talking directly to the people about the party and our candidates. We are not waiting until a few weeks to the election before starting our work.
Our objective is to ensure that APM has a presence in every community and that our members understand the electoral process. I am confident that when the time comes, our people will identify the party with the cassava logo on the ballot.
You were the APM governorship candidate in the August 2026 election but stepped down shortly before the poll and supported Governor Adeleke. What informed that decision?
I stated it clearly when I announced my support for Adeleke that it was because of the interest of the people of Osun State that I placed their interest above mine.
Before I reached that decision, I consulted with the party, our leaders and supporters across the state. After those consultations, I decided to back the governor.
For me, political ambition should not be placed above the interest of the people. There are times when a politician has to take a decision based on what he believes is in the interest of the people at a particular moment.
Are you saying you were not pressured into supporting Adeleke’s re-election bid?
I made a video to publicly announce my decision, and anybody who watched that video would see that it did not depict someone who was under pressure.
I can never be pressured into such a decision. I have been the chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), and I am also part of the National Executive Committee of our party. I understand the responsibility that comes with political leadership.
So, nobody pressured me or my party into taking that decision.
Even with what we regarded as attempts by the ruling party to frustrate our party and our presidential candidate ahead of 2027, we are not deterred. We are still working and pushing forward for victory.
What will you say about allegations that your withdrawal was induced financially or by the promise of a political appointment?
No amount of money can buy my passion for good governance, my party and the interest of our people.
My party leaders, stakeholders and I saw the need to support Adeleke at that particular time, and we did so based on our assessment of the situation.
I had never met Adeleke one-on-one before that decision, but we recognised what he was doing with the position he occupied, and our stakeholders felt that if APM eventually gets the opportunity to govern Osun, we should be able to do the same thing or even better.
There was no financial inducement and no promise of appointment.
Did you enter any direct political agreement with Governor Adeleke before withdrawing from the race?
No, there was no political understanding or agreement between me and Adeleke ahead of 2027.
Our decision was based on what we considered the interest of Osun State at that particular time. Supporting somebody in one election does not mean you have surrendered your political identity or abandoned your party.
APM remains an independent political party, and we will contest the 2027 election on our own platform.
Some people argued that your withdrawal could damage APM’s credibility because the party had presented you as its governorship candidate. Did the decision weaken the party?
It never damaged us. It is even helping us because it has shown the people of Osun State that we do not practise politics of bitterness.
Our politics is about love, capacity and the ability to deliver good governance. We demonstrated that political parties can take decisions based on what they consider to be the interest of the people.
Many supporters of Adeleke are now looking at APM because they know that political alliances can change. They are asking questions about the future, and we are presenting APM as an alternative platform for 2027.
Did you at any point regret withdrawing, especially considering that your party members and supporters expected APM to test its popularity at the polls?
No regret at all. APM was not testing popularity. We are popular and ready to be elected into the majority of the offices we will contest in 2027.
The expectation of the people is good governance. Our assessment is that people are looking at what is being done in the governorship and also what is happening in other political offices.
Our responsibility as a political party is to provide candidates and policies that will respond to the expectations of the people.
As a leader of the APM, whose presidential candidate is Seyi Makinde, how do you reconcile your support for a governor who has now expressed support for President Tinubu?
APM is about the people. Nigerians are seeking good governance, and that is what our party represents.
People supported good governance in Osun, and we believe they are also ready to consider the ambition of Mr Seyi Makinde at the national level.
We don’t have any political understanding or relationship with Adeleke ahead of 2027. Our relationship is with the people.
What matters to us is that Nigerians should have an alternative and should be able to examine the candidates and parties before making their decisions.
Does your support for Adeleke in the 2026 governorship election mean APM could work with him again in 2030 if circumstances change?
Politics is dynamic, but APM is a political party with its own structure, leadership and candidates. We will assess every political situation based on the interest of the people and the direction of the party.
Our focus now is to build APM and prepare for the 2027 general election. We are not building the party around one individual.
What is your message to voters in Osun State who may be wondering whether APM has the capacity to compete with established political parties?
I will tell them not to judge APM merely by the number of people currently occupying political offices. They should look at the people joining the party, the structures we are building and the candidates we are presenting.
The youths are with us. Women are with us. People in the informal sector are joining us, and we are strengthening our structures across the wards and polling units.
The 2027 election will give Nigerians another opportunity to mak
e their choice. We are preparing for that election, and I am confident that APM will surprise many people with its performance in Osun State and beyond.
