OYO AA GOV ASPIRANT DENIES STEPPING DOWN AFTER PRIMARY DISPUTE

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The candidate for governorship from the Action Alliance in Oyo State, Olaniyi Ajekiigbe, also known as OLA, has denied reports that he left the race or gave up his chance to run for governor to Titilola Sodo.

Ajekiigbe made this clear through a statement from his Publicity Head, Oluseyi Akinwale, in Ibadan, the capital of the state, on Monday.
He said he supports real efforts to bring people together and keep the party united, but he warned that these efforts shouldn’t make people think that a legal issue has already been settled in favor of any group.

The statement said, “We can’t decide the outcome before the judge does.
We are telling party members and others not to treat this matter as finished while it is still being handled by a court.”

The main issue is a governorship primary that took place on May 26, 2026, at the Action Alliance Secretariat on Old-Ife Road, Ibadan.
Ajekiigbe’s team claims he won that event.

The camp maintained that the exercise was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission and other electoral stakeholders, and that documentary evidence, including an electoral report, was available to support the claim.

It said, “INEC’s publication of a candidate’s name did not, by itself, resolve a pending legal dispute concerning the party’s recognised national leadership or the process by which its candidate emerged.

“Ajekiigbe has not accepted the candidacy of Titilola Sodo, withdrawn from the contest or surrendered the mandate he believes he secured at the primary. His position remains that the dispute should be resolved in accordance with the law.”

The camp also addressed INEC, urging the commission to act impartially and give effect to any applicable court orders recognising Kenneth Udeze as the party’s National Chairman and James Veniembe as National Secretary, including uploading the party’s candidates on its platform.

It maintained that resolving the leadership dispute was essential to clarifying the party’s standing ahead of the election, calling on “AA members, supporters and the people of Oyo to remain calm and law-abiding while the judicial process runs its course.

“Peace and unity can endure only when the rights of all parties are respected and justice is allowed to take its course,” the statement concluded.

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