There are indications that prominent PDP stakeholders in Oyo State have backed Dr. Debo Akande for the party’s governorship ticket in the 2027 general elections.
Earlier reports said that two additional governorship candidates, Bimbo Adekanmbi and Shared Akinade Fijabi, received support from party officials and other stakeholders at a high-level consultative meeting in Ibadan.
However, sources acquainted with the closed-door meeting denied allegations that Adekanmbi and Fijabi were the two aspirants discussed during the deliberations, calling such accounts deceptive and contradictory with what happened at the meeting.
“The story that Fijabi and Adekanmbi were the final two is fabricated. “It was intended to launder a decision made outside the room,” a party source said on Tuesday.
According to insiders, Akande routinely outperformed other candidates throughout the consultation process.
In the first inner caucus session, he reportedly received three votes before raising his total to four votes on the second day. When the consultation was broadened to include 21 stakeholders, Akande was said to have earned 20 votes, indicating near-unanimous support among important party leaders.
Participants at the conference allegedly cited Akande’s competence, party loyalty, and political experience as key reasons for the endorsement.
Monsurat Sunmonu, the former Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, reportedly openly supported Akande’s candidature during the deliberations.
“The only person who has contributed and sacrificed so much for this government is Dr. Debo Akande,” the former Speaker was reported as saying.
It was learned that she remained firm during the conversations, refusing attempts to promote Adekanmbi’s candidature ahead of Akande’s.
However, a source at the conference claimed that, despite Akande’s overwhelming support, there are indications that certain powerful political interests are aiming to overturn the stakeholders’ consensus in favour of another candidate.
Ahead of the primaries, Akande’s supporters say that he is still the most credible and electable candidate for the PDP in the Oyo State governorship election.
They emphasised his accomplishments to government, long-standing allegiance to the party, and widespread acceptability within the state’s grassroots and political organisations.