Iyabo Obasanjo Quits APC Two Months After Losing Gov’ship Ticket

Former senator and governorship aspirant, Prof. Iyabo Obasanjo, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing what she described as persistent disrespect, rejection and maltreatment by the leadership of the party in Ogun State.

Obasanjo, the first daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, announced her resignation in a letter dated May 31 and addressed to the Ogun State APC Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the resignation is coming six months after joining the party and barely two months she lost the APC’s governorship ticket.

The former senator, who represented Ogun Central between 2007 and 2011, expressed dissatisfaction with the consensus arrangement that produced Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as the APC governorship candidate for the 2027 election in Ogun State.

According to her, the process fell short of the party’s guidelines on consensus candidature, noting that she had initially pledged to abide by the party’s decision once a consensus candidate emerged.

“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.

Obasanjo alleged that her supporters were prevented from participating in the meeting where the consensus candidate was announced.

“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.

She further argued that the process did not comply with the APC’s stipulated guidelines.

“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.

Despite her reservations, Obasanjo said she accepted the outcome in the interest of party unity and immediately issued a statement congratulating the consensus candidate.

“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.

The former Ogun State Commissioner for Health disclosed that Senator Adeola subsequently contacted her and requested a meeting with her supporters.

According to her, during the meeting, her supporters made three requests, which she described as non-compulsory.

“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.

She, however, expressed disappointment that more than two months later, she had not received any feedback.

“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.

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Announcing her decision to leave the ruling party, Obasanjo wrote: “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.”

She, however, expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu and some party leaders for the cordial relationship she enjoyed during her brief stay in the APC.

“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.

Obasanjo formally joined the APC in January 2026 after registering as a member in Ward 11, Ibogun, in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, signaling her return to active politics after years away from the political scene.