“Recent reports indicate that Olopoeyan and Governor ‘Seyi Makinde are backing different sets of candidates within the APM ahead of the December 2026 local government poll.”
Olopoeyan and rumbles in Oyo APM
The unfolding disagreement within the Allied People’s Movement (APM) in Oyo State over the forthcoming local government election appears to be exposing a deeper question of political structure, influence and control.
At the centre of the disagreement is Alhaji Bisi Olopoeyan, who has reportedly insisted that the candidates produced through an earlier APM primary process should remain the party’s candidates.
Recent reports indicate that Olopoeyan and Governor ‘Seyi Makinde are backing different sets of candidates within the APM ahead of the December 2026 local government poll.
Those familiar with the history of the party may argue that Olopoeyan’s position is rooted in claiming that he was involved with APM before Makinde’s arrival and therefore believes the structures he and other founding stakeholders built should be recognised.
However, the political reality of APM has changed considerably. Makinde and Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, are now central figures in the party nationally, with Makinde emerging as the party’s presidential candidate and Mohammed playing a major national leadership role.
The controversy also brings the 2023 political experience into focus.
One argument circulating in political circles is that the demand for a substantial sharing of local government chairmanship slots between different political tendencies may be difficult to accommodate when the sitting governor and his political structure are seeking to control the composition of the councils.
It is important, however, to distinguish political influence from the formal electoral process: Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) is the statutory body responsible for organising and supervising local government elections in Oyo State.
The members of the Commission were nominated by the governor and confirmed by the House of Assembly, a structure that has existed in successive administrations.
The 2024 local government election provides an important reference point.
OYSIEC declared PDP candidates winners of all 33 chairmanship positions, although opposition parties, particularly the APC, rejected the results and raised allegations concerning the conduct of the election.
That outcome demonstrated the extent to which the political machinery surrounding an incumbent administration can shape local government contests, while also showing why disputes over candidate selection can become particularly significant.
There is another lesson from Makinde’s political journey that cannot easily be ignored. During the build-up to the 2023 governorship election, several prominent political actors in Ibadan and across Oyo State did not align with Makinde’s political camp, including Olopoeyan himself.
Yet Makinde went on to win re-election with 563,756 votes, defeating his closest challenger, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Teslim Folarin, who polled 256,685 votes.
For supporters of the governor, that experience reinforces the belief that Makinde can build and sustain a political structure, even when some established political figures choose not to participate.
That is, perhaps, where the present APM disagreement becomes more than a dispute over local government candidates.
It is a question of whether the old political structures associated with APM before Makinde’s emergence can co-exist with the new structure that has developed around the governor and the party’s national ambitions.
Olopoeyan’s political history and grassroots network may remain significant but seriously over-hyped and Makinde’s experience since 2019 has equally produced its own political machinery which is more stronger and bigger.
The current dispute therefore calls for political negotiation.
As the December 2026 council election approaches, the real test will be whether the different tendencies within APM can reach an arrangement acceptable to the party’s stakeholders, or whether the disagreement will deepen the existing divisions within the party but Makinde and his APM structure is certain of Victory!!!
•Adekunle writes from Ibadan.
