From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Ahead of the August 16, 2025 by-election into the House of Representatives, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State will on Wednesday begin a four-day revalidation and upgrade of the party’s membership register across the 12 wards in Ibadan North Local Government Area.
The move followed the announcement of the date for the by-election to fill the vacant seat of Ibadan North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This was the highpoint of a resolution made at a meeting organised by the members of the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party, as well as a body of eminent leaders and stalwarts from Ibadan North Local Government.
The meeting, held on Tuesday at the Oke-Ado, Ibadan state secretariat of the APC, was presided over by the state chairman, Alhaji Olayide Abas.
The party called for unity, commitment, and cooperation among all stakeholders.
In a statement issued at the end of the meeting and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, the Oyo APC acknowledged the receipt of the guidelines for the conduct of a primary election to pave the way for the emergence of its candidate for the said poll among the many aspirants who have indicated their interest in occupying the seat, which became vacant as a result of the death of Hon. Olaide Akinremi who, until his passing last year, was a member of the party.
In his opening address, the party chairman underscored the need for all stakeholders to put up collaborative efforts to assist the APC in reclaiming the seat which it won convincingly in the 2023 general election.
“It is unfortunate we lost one of our best-performing elected officials in Hon. Musiliu Olaide Akinremi. But we find solace in the fact that he left an enduring legacy behind. It is on this note that we are telling the constituents of Ibadan North to keep faith in us as we shall give them another performer again.
“In compliance with the directives of INEC and the guidelines released by the APC National Secretariat, we shall commence the revalidation and upgrade of our membership register across the 12 wards in Ibadan North LGA for the purpose of the by-election.
“We have concluded all arrangements for this particular exercise, which will take place simultaneously at the meeting place in each of the wards between July 2 and July 5, 2025.
“All that new and old members need to have their membership revalidated is their Permanent Voter Card (PVC) and nothing more.
“I want to use this opportunity to establish the fact that we have not decided on a particular mode of primary as we are still consulting with relevant stakeholders.
“We have options of consensus as well as direct and indirect primary. But I can assure you that none has been adopted yet.
“However, we are appealing to aspirants and their supporters to embrace peace as we assure them of fairness and justice,” Abas said.
In their response, the party stalwarts, led by Alhaji Bello Oladeji, expressed confidence in the state leadership of the party. He promised that members of the Apex Committee of the APC in Ibadan North have resolved to work together as a team and mobilise support for whoever emerges as the candidate of the party.
