Amosun Stays Away From Ogun APC Primary As Abiodun Loyalist Retains Senate Ticket

Emerging details indicate that former Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, was absent from the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election held to elect the party’s senatorial candidate for Ogun Central.

Sources disclosed that Amosun, who is seeking a return to the Senate, stayed away from the exercise.

The former governor, believed to have been endorsed as a consensus candidate by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had agreed to participate in a primary election to test his popularity, provided the process was free and fair.

He reportedly made the declaration, along with the caveat, during a stakeholders’ meeting convened to discuss who would emerge as the next senator representing Ogun Central.

Amosun’s position comes against the backdrop of his long-running political rivalry with Governor Dapo Abiodun over the control of the Ogun State APC structure.

The former governor and Abiodun have remained at odds since 2019, with allies of the governor maintaining firm control of the party machinery in the state.

Although Amosun is widely believed to command a formidable political structure across Ogun Central, Abiodun officially controls the party apparatus and the processes determining candidates for the ongoing elections.

With Amosun absent from the primary, Abiodun’s loyalist and former Chief of Staff, Shaibu Afolabi Salisu, retained the APC ticket for Ogun Central.

The outcome, however, was disputed by other aspirants, including former senators Gbenga Obadara and Lanre Tejuosho.