Oyo 2027: How Stakeholders’ Choice Was Overturned To Impose Adekanmbi As Makinde’s Pick — Investigative Report

 

Inside the closed-door meeting where Hon. Abimbola Adekanmbi scored zero votes and the consensus was later vetoed

A process billed as a consensus-driven selection for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship ticket in Oyo State has ended in controversy, with credible sources confirming that the candidate preferred by an overwhelming majority of stakeholders was overruled in favour of Hon. Abimbola Adekanmbi.

The outcome contradicts earlier reports that claimed Adekanmbi emerged after defeating Saheed Fijabi in a stakeholder vote. Multiple insiders present at the meetings describe that account as “entirely false and misleading.”

For 15 hours, five members of the Oyo State Governor, Engr. Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde’s inner caucus sat through deliberations without breaking for food. The brief was to narrow down a shortlist of governorship aspirants and advise the governor on who could carry the PDP’s flag now Allied peoples movement (APM) in 2027.

What happened next has become the most contentious moment in the party’s early succession talks.

When the first vote was taken, the result was lopsided. One name on the shortlist recorded zero votes out of five. Another secured only one. The clear frontrunner walked away with three votes and the backing of senior party figures who stood against Hon. Abimbola Adekanmbi, including Alhaja Monsurat Sunmonu, Baba Bayo Lawal, and Dr. Morohunkola Thomas.

Sources present say the governor called for a recess and asked the five members to “sleep over it” and reconvene the next day.

When deliberations resumed, the margin widened. The candidate who had zero votes remained at zero. The frontrunner moved to four votes, with stakeholders remaining firmly against Adekanmbi’s candidacy.

It was at that point the pool was expanded. Twenty-one representatives, three from each geopolitical zone, were brought in to ratify or challenge the caucus decision. The outcome was even more decisive. 20 votes for the frontrunner, 1 vote for Hon. Abimbola Adekanmbi.

By every measure used in the room, Adekanmbi had no traction among stakeholders who voted against his emergence.

Yet that was not the end of the story.

According to multiple insiders, a directive came down after the expanded vote to drop the 20-1 result and name Hon. Abimbola Adekanmbi as the governor’s preferred choice. The decision, sources allege, was pushed by Otunba Seye Famojuro, a close ally of Governor Seyi Makinde, and overruled the consensus reached by both the inner caucus and the 21-member stakeholder group.

Stakeholders who opposed Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi cited three main concerns. First, his tenure under former Governor Abiola Ajimobi, during which civil servants were reportedly owed several months’ salaries, remains a sore point among public sector workers. Second, his defection to the PDP only five months ago raised questions about loyalty and commitment to the party’s base. Third, many argued he lacked visible achievements or a track record that could be marketed to the electorate in 2027.

The report published by an online blog claimed that Hon. Adekanmbi and Hon. Saheed Fijabi were the two final contenders and that Adekanmbi emerged after Muslim stakeholders swung behind him. Investigators found no evidence that Fijabi was ever a primary contender in the early stages. Sources say his name was introduced much later, after the real contest had already been decided.

“The story that Fijabi and Adekanmbi were the final two is a fabrication,” a senior party source said. “It was designed to launder a decision made outside the room.”

So who did the 20 stakeholders back?

According to attendees, the overwhelming choice was Dr. Debo Akande.

It was Akande who secured 3 votes on Day 1 and 4 votes on Day 2 in the inner caucus. It was Dr. Debo Akande who got 20 of the 21 votes when the process was expanded, with the majority standing against Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi.

Sources say Alhaja Monsurat Sunmonu stood up during deliberations and stated that “the only person who has contributed and sacrificed so much for this government is Dr. Debo Akande.” She was said to have stood her ground against Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi throughout the deliberations.

“The ticket was his to lose,” one participant said. “But after the votes were counted, it became clear that the veto was being driven by the candidate backed by Otunba Seye Famojuro.”

As of press time, there has been no official announcement from the PDP or the governor’s office. But stakeholders who participated say the record of the meeting is clear, one candidate was rejected 20-1, and the process was later overturned.

For now, the question in Oyo PDP is not who the stakeholders chose. The question is whether that choice will stand against the veto.

This report is based on an investigation with multiple participants in the meetings.