By - Some APC stakeholders in Osun are pushing for a leadership change months ahead of the 2027 general elections, pointing to a thin electoral record under chairman Tajudeen Lawal
- Critics cite the party’s losses in the 2023 presidential, senatorial and House of Reps races, plus the August 2026 governorship defeat, as proof a new chairman is needed
- Others within the party argue removing Lawal now would only create fresh division and hand an advantage to opponents ahead of next year’s polls
OSOGBO, Sept 28 (AfrikTimes) – A quiet rebellion is building inside the Osun APC, with a section of the party pressing for chairman Tajudeen Lawal’s removal well before the 2027 general elections, even as others warn that unseating him now would do more damage than good.
Lawal has led the party since stepping in as acting chairman in November 2022, following the exit of former chairman and late Owa of Igbajo, Oba Gboyega Famodun. He was confirmed as substantive chairman on June 27, 2023, and has since been credited by supporters with holding the party together at a moment when defections threatened to hollow it out after the APC’s loss of power in the state that year.
That stabilising role, however, hasn’t translated into wins at the polls, and it’s the results, not the effort, that his critics are focused on.
A Record His Opponents Call Disqualifying
The numbers critics point to are stark. In the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar carried the presidential vote in Osun for the PDP. Of the state’s 26 House of Assembly seats, nine House of Representatives seats and three senatorial seats, the APC came away with only the Boripe/Boluwaduro State Constituency. Then came the August 15, 2026 governorship election, which the party also lost, this time to incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke.
A former local government chairman under the party, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that record alone should settle the question of whether Lawal stays. He argued that a chairman’s job is ultimately measured in election results, and that three consecutive cycles without meaningful gains point to a leadership problem rather than bad luck. He described the need heading into 2027 as a fresh face capable of energising the grassroots, someone he suggested Lawal has not proven himself to be.
A party chieftain in Osogbo, who also asked not to be named, went further, framing the issue as one of visibility and activity rather than just results. He said Lawal delegates too much of his public role to others, rarely appears in the field, and that party meetings happen infrequently and produce few implemented decisions. In his view, the party needs a chairman who leads from the front, tours wards and local governments personally, and injects new energy before the 2027 cycle arrives.
Loyalists Say Stability Matters More Than a Fresh Face
Not everyone in the party agrees that a change makes sense this close to an election. Abayomi, a party member in Iwo Local Government, rejected the removal calls outright, arguing that the 2022 and 2026 losses weren’t Lawal’s alone to carry, and that keeping the party’s structure intact across the state despite limited resources is itself a meaningful achievement. He warned that a new chairman would need months just to learn the party’s internal workings, reconcile competing factions and build a personal base, time the party can’t spare this close to 2027.
Kehinde Olamide, a party member in Ila, echoed that caution, calling a leadership change at this stage politically risky. He said swapping chairmen now would likely reopen old wounds, invite litigation, and hand the APC’s opponents an opening at a moment when the party most needs unity. Olamide credited Lawal with touring local governments and engaging stakeholders directly, and argued the more sensible path is to hold the party together through the 2027 elections before revisiting the leadership question.
Attempts to reach Lawal for comment on the calls for his removal were unsuccessful as of the time of filing.
