Oyo AA Governorship Race: Ajekiigbe Rejects Claims of Withdrawal
Action Alliance governorship aspirant in Oyo State, Olaniyi Ajekiigbe, popularly known as OLA, has denied withdrawing from the 2027 race or conceding the party’s ticket to Titilola Sodo amid an ongoing dispute over the party’s primary election. In a statement issued in Ibadan on Monday by his Head of Publicity Office, Oluseyi Akinwale, Ajekiigbe said he supported genuine reconciliation and party unity but warned against presenting the dispute as resolved while it remained before a competent court. His camp maintained that Ajekiigbe won the governorship primary conducted on May 26, 2026, at the party’s secretariat on Old-Ife Road, Ibadan. It said the exercise was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other electoral stakeholders, adding that documentary evidence, including an electoral report, was available to support his claim. The statement also argued that INEC’s publication of a candidate’s name did not automatically settle the legal questions surrounding the party’s recognised national leadership or the process through which its candidate emerged.
Ajekiigbe’s camp insisted that he had neither accepted Sodo’s candidacy nor relinquished the mandate he believes he secured at the primary, maintaining that the matter should be resolved in accordance with the law. It also urged INEC to remain impartial and give effect to any applicable court orders recognising Kenneth Udeze as the party’s National Chairman and James Veniembe as National Secretary, including the uploading of the party’s candidates on its platform. According to the statement, resolving the leadership dispute is essential to establishing the party’s standing ahead of the 2027 election. The camp appealed to Action Alliance members, supporters and residents of Oyo State to remain calm and law-abiding while judicial proceedings continue, stressing that lasting peace and unity depend on respecting the rights of all parties and allowing justice to take its course.
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