Former senator and governorship aspirant, Prof. Iyabo Obasanjo, has announced her resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing the Ogun State leadership of persistent disrespect, rejection, and unfair treatment.
In a resignation letter dated May 31 and addressed to the Ogun State APC Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi, Obasanjo said her decision followed months of dissatisfaction with how she was treated within the party, barely six months after she joined and shortly after losing the APC governorship ticket.
She also faulted the process that produced Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as the party’s consensus candidate for the 2027 governorship race in Ogun State, insisting it did not follow the party’s guidelines.
Reflecting on her initial commitment to abide by party decisions, she said, “When I started the journey to get the party’s nomination for Governor, I came to see you and I said to you and everyone both privately and publicly that I will honor the party’s consensus decision once it has been made,” she stated.
She alleged that the selection process was marred by disorder and exclusion of her supporters, adding, “When that day came, even as violence was perpetrated against my supporters to stop them from entering the venue, I maintained my calmness,” she said.
Obasanjo further argued that she was sidelined during the announcement of the consensus candidate despite her involvement in the race, saying, “At the venue, with no prior meeting with me as a candidate, given what the national party says in its guidelines on what consensus should be, a candidate was announced.
“No one acknowledged my presence at the meeting given that I was the most prominent opposition to the candidate chosen and I had traversed the state mobilizing and encouraging grassroots APC support,” she added.
Although she initially accepted the outcome in the interest of party unity, she said her concerns about fairness remained unresolved. “Based on my conviction that party unity is important, I wrote my letter accepting the party’s consensus candidate that night even with the flawed process,” she said.
She also disclosed that Senator Adeola later reached out for engagement with her supporters, but no meaningful follow-up was made. “At that meeting my people made three requests which I said were not compulsory, but he should let me know so I would inform my people of his responses, and he said I should give him a week,” she stated.
However, she lamented the lack of response months after the discussion. “Unless he gets back to me after I send this letter, he has not reached out to me after two months. This is just part of the general treatment I have received from APC of disrespect and rejection as if I was not there making contributions that increased support for the party in Ogun Central and across the state,” she said.
Announcing her departure from the ruling party, she declared, “A famous person once said that when disrespect is the only dish served, then one should leave the table. I am therefore leaving the APC table where I am not welcomed. This is my resignation from the party.”
Despite her exit, she expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and some party leaders for their support during her brief stay. “Through you, I want to thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for receiving me warmly as usual, and I thank you and our Ogun Central Senatorial Chairman, Chief Soremi, as both of you treated me well and I will always remember that,” she wrote.
