As the political landscape heats up ahead of the general elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State is facing a deep internal crisis. What was expected to be a period of consolidation for the ruling party following its primary elections has instead exposed deep fractures, mounting distrust, and widespread allegations of double standards surrounding Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Behind public declarations of loyalty and party unity lies a story of factional warfare, court battles, and covert political maneuvers threatening to destabilize the APC structure in the Sunshine State. The primary elections for National Assembly seats in Ondo State were meant to be a test of party cohesion; instead, they catalyzed open warfare.
During the primaries, two major power blocs clashed directly: the Governor’s camp, led by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who fielded his preferred candidates across several key constituencies, and the Minister’s Alliance, led by the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo (BTO), whose camp successfully secured pivotal tickets when the national leadership released the official list. The national leadership’s decision to favor candidates associated with the BTO camp left the Governor’s political machinery reeling, breaking the party structure in Ondo State into two distinct, competing camps.
The fracture within the party has been further deepened by legal challenges that defy party directives. In direct violation of the APC constitution regarding party supremacy and internal dispute resolution, aggrieved defeated aspirants, backed by factional interests, rushed to court. Following the Federal High Court ruling in Abuja that nullified the nomination of Timilehin Adeleye, the candidate backed by factional stakeholders, and declared Abdulghani Arobo as the authentic candidate, the Court of Appeal has now affirmed judgment in favor of Arobo, upholding that he lawfully won the primary election after the votes across the constituency’s 23 wards were verified.
Similarly incumbent lawmaker representing Okitipupa/Irele Federal Constituency, Hon. Jimi Odimayo, is currently battling for his political survival as pre-election suits challenging his candidacy move through the Federal High Court in Abuja. The legal contestation, spearheaded by rival aspirant Dr. Olumuyiwa Daramola following the contentious All Progressives Congress (APC) primary process, seeks judicial intervention over alleged non-compliance with party guidelines and electoral provisions
Despite having executive authority to enforce party discipline, Governor Aiyedatiwa neither urged the aggrieved litigants to withdraw their court suits prior to the judgments nor disciplined factional loyalists who initiated lawsuits against official party candidates.
The internal rift reached a boiling point in the Ondo South Senatorial District. Following the emergence of Chief Isaacs D. I. Kekemeke as the official APC senatorial candidate, key APC loyalists and newly appointed aides of Governor Aiyedatiwa engaged in open rebellion. Rather than supporting Kekemeke, several state executives, political appointees, and local influencers publicly declared their support for Hon. Matthew Oyerinmade, popularly known as “Mato.” Mato defected from the APC to run on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), forming a formidable cross-party alliance known as the Rainbow Coalition.
Reports indicate that several of the governor’s recently appointed aides, drawn from his large pool of over 1,800 state assistants, are actively campaigning for Mato under the PDP and Rainbow Coalition flags, which political observers cite as clear evidence that anti-party activities are being quietly encouraged or ignored at the highest level of state administration.
The underlying political tension was prominently highlighted during the 70th posthumous birthday colloquium held for the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in Ibadan, Oyo State. Ever since the bitter political fallout that followed Akeredolu’s illness and subsequent passing, Governor Aiyedatiwa had conspicuously distanced himself from the late governor’s family and legacy, repeatedly shunning previous memorial colloquiums and posthumous birthday events organized in Akeredolu’s honor. However, his sudden attendance at the 2026 Ibadan colloquium, complete with public displays of reconciliation toward Akeredolu’s widow, Chief Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, and family, raised eyebrows across political circles.
Prior to this sudden public display, the Akeredolu political structure had largely aligned itself with the BTO camp following protracted disagreements with Aiyedatiwa. Political analysts view Aiyedatiwa’s sudden appearance in Ibadan as a calculated strategic maneuver to neutralize BTO’s support base by attempting to fold the late governor’s loyalists back into his fold. At the same time, party elders allege that the governor’s camp is deliberately starving BTO-backed National Assembly candidates of political momentum and state-level support, operating on the assumption that failure at the polls for these candidates will erode BTO’s influence in Ondo State ahead of upcoming political contests.
While APC elders continue to urge Governor Aiyedatiwa and Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo to sheath their swords and present a united front, the ongoing proxy battles suggest that peace remains elusive. Though the governor has attended selected APC party National Assembly rallies in the state to project an image of solidarity, critics view these appearances as mere tactical maneuvers designed to cover up the unresolved factional rift.
Beyond the usual public denials and warnings from the governor, political analysts contend that one would expect concrete action: in conjunction with the state APC leaders and secretariat, which Governor Aiyedatiwa effectively controls, strict disciplinary actions, such as suspensions or outright expulsions, ought to have been deployed against erring members and political appointees engaging in anti-party activities or defying official APC directives in the state. By allowing internal litigation, selective endorsements, unpunished defiance, and anti-party operations like the Ondo South Rainbow Coalition revolt to persist unchecked, the current administration in Ondo State is engaging in a high-stakes gamble.
If the APC fails to resolve these deep-seated divisions and reign in double-dealing within its ranks, the party risks entering the general elections as a divided house, giving opposition parties the exact leverage they need to capitalize on the rift.
