A massive crowd of All Progressives Congress (APC) youths and other party supporters on Wednesday welcomed the party’s deputy governorship candidate in Oyo State, Hon. Adesoji Adedeji, to Saki and Ogbomoso.

The two towns were turned into scenes of political excitement as party members converged on the Saki City Hall and Soun Ogunlola Town Hall, Ogbomoso, for an engagement organised under the theme: “Building APC Youths for Electoral Success in Oyo State.”

The programme was part of the party’s grassroots mobilisation and engagement ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Adedeji, who was received amid political and solidarity songs, used the occasion to outline some of the areas he said the proposed APC administration led by Senator Sharafadeen Alli would prioritise if elected.

He identified workers’ welfare, education, youth development, investment and a functional local government system as areas requiring particular attention.

Speaking at the two venues, Adedeji thanked party leaders, candidates and members for the reception, urging APC youths to take a more active role in grassroots mobilisation.

He said the party needed to strengthen its structures beyond Ibadan, stressing that Ogbomoso, Oyo, Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun were important components of the state whose interests should be reflected in political and development strategies.

Adedeji likened the strength of the APC to a forest, saying: “A single tree cannot make a forest.”

He therefore called for greater cooperation among party members across the various zones of the state.

On the proposed administration’s priorities, the deputy governorship candidate said education and youth development would receive attention because of their importance to human capital development.

He also said the administration would seek to attract investors to the state in order to expand economic activities, create opportunities and improve the welfare of residents.

On workers’ welfare, Adedeji said attention would be given to salaries, allowances, gratuities and pensions.

He described workers’ welfare as an important component of the Oyo AHEAD agenda, while noting that infrastructure, healthcare and agriculture were also among the areas highlighted by the APC ticket.

At the Ogbomoso engagement, the APC candidate for Ogbomoso North, Ogbomoso South and Oriire Federal Constituency, Hon. Olamiju Alao-Akala, commended the party’s leadership and youths for their commitment.

Alao-Akala urged members to remain united and sustain mobilisation at the grassroots ahead of the elections.

The APC Youth Leader, Remi Adepoju, assured the gathering that the youth wing would intensify its mobilisation activities.

He also appealed to party leaders to continue supporting young members and creating opportunities for their participation in the party.

Other speakers at the meetings expressed support for the Alli-Adedeji ticket and called for stronger mobilisation across communities.

The programme featured a minute’s silence in honour of the late former Oyo State Governor, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, followed by prayers.

Among those present were Hon. Odedunmi Bunmi Olubukunmi, Hon. Glory Olalekan, Hon. Sayo Ifatoki, Alhaji Wasiu Olukan and Hon. Ajagbe Ibrahim, alongside other APC leaders, women leaders and members of the City Boys Movement.

In Saki, Adedeji also paid a courtesy visit to the Olere of Saki, Oba Khalid Olabisi.

The engagements in Saki and Ogbomoso formed part of the APC’s ongoing efforts to deepen grassroots contact and increase youth participation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has berated Governor Seyi Makinde over the use of the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan, for a political rally organised by the Allied Peoples Movement on Monday.

The APC described the development as insensitive, saying the use of the stadium for a political gathering had reopened questions surrounding the reported N5.5bn rehabilitation of the facility and its recent non-availability for Shooting Stars Sports Club’s continental fixture.

The party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, issued in Ibadan on Monday, accused the Makinde administration of disregarding public concerns over the stadium while allegedly deploying the facility for political purposes.

The APM rally attracted supporters from across the 33 local government areas of the state, with political speeches and musical performances forming part of the event.

But the opposition party said the rally came at a particularly sensitive time for football fans in the state, following Shooting Stars’ inability to host its CAF Confederation Cup fixture against Tunisian side, CS Sfaxien, at the Adamasingba Stadium.

Sadare said, “At a time questions were being asked on what Governor Makinde did on Adamasingba Stadium to justify the whopping N5.5bn cost of rehabilitation in view of the fact that the Confederation of African Football recently rejected the facility for its matches, the same stadium was turned into a campaign ground where APM members converged to enjoy Fuji music.”

Shooting Stars eventually played the first leg of the fixture at the MKO Abiola Sports Complex, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The development had disappointed many supporters who expected the Oluyole Warriors to return to their traditional home for their continental campaign.

The APC argued that the situation raised questions about the quality and outcome of the rehabilitation work carried out on the stadium.

Sadare said the development was particularly painful for football lovers who had watched the club’s continental campaign move away from Ibadan.

“Unfortunately, this happened when several thousands of soccer enthusiasts were mourning the early exit of their darling Shooting Stars Sports Club from the ongoing Confederation Cup,” he said.

The opposition party further alleged that the administration had failed to adequately address concerns raised over the condition of the stadium despite the huge amount reportedly spent on its rehabilitation.

“Rather than refund the N5.5bn misappropriated in the name of Adamasingba Stadium rehabilitation and re-award the project to a competent contractor in a transparent manner, Governor Makinde continued to rub insults on the injury of the people,” Sadare alleged.

The APC also accused the state government of allegedly shutting some markets in Ibadan and pressuring traders, commercial motorists and other residents to attend the rally.

It claimed that the event involved substantial expenditure, but did not provide documentary evidence to establish the amount allegedly spent or demonstrate that public funds were used for the rally.

The party called on the state government to explain the outcome of the stadium rehabilitation and account for the resources committed to the project.

It also urged the government to prioritise the completion and maintenance of public infrastructure over what it described as political activities.

The controversy comes as political activities gradually intensify in Oyo State ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the use and condition of public facilities increasingly becoming part of the political debate.

The Oyo State Secretary of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Ademola Oke, has dismissed claims that members of the All Progressives Congress defected to the party, describing the purported defection as untrue.

Oke said the state executive of the APM was not aware of any formal defection from the APC, insisting that none of the party’s 351 ward chairmen attended the gathering at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan.

The APM scribe was reacting to claims surrounding the gathering, which he said should not be interpreted as a mass movement of APC members into the APM.

He said, “APM is a structured party. Nobody defected to our party. We have procedures for defection, and none of the APC structures, from ward to state level, joined us.

“How could people join us and there was no communication between us?”

Oke urged members of the public to disregard claims of a major influx of APC members into the APM, saying political defections could only be recognised when they were properly communicated through the relevant party structures.

He said the gathering at Adamasingba should not be presented as a formal political defection involving APC members.

According to him, none of the 351 ward chairmen of the APM was present at the event, arguing that the absence of the party’s grassroots structures raised questions about claims of a major political movement.

“Genuine defections should be identified through the appropriate party structures and procedures, not through hired crowds and concerts at a CAF-rejected stadium,” Oke added.

The APM secretary maintained that the party remained a structured political organisation with established procedures for admitting defectors, stressing that no such process had taken place in relation to the alleged APC defection.