The All Progressives Congress has drafted former Osun State Deputy Governor, Iyiola Omisore and Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara into its 276-member National Campaign Council for the August 15, 2026, Osun State governorship election.
The campaign council, unveiled on Sunday by the APC National Working Committee, will be chaired by Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma, and will be inaugurated on Tuesday, July 28, at the Transcorp Hilton Event Centre, Abuja.
The announcement was contained in a notice signed by the APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru.
The inclusion of Omisore is expected to put to rest recent speculation about his commitment to the APC following the defection of some of his close political associates to the Accord to support Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election bid.
The rumours gathered momentum after Omisore was absent from the APC governorship campaign flag-off in Ile-Ife, fuelling claims that he had distanced himself from the party.
According to the notice, Uzodimma will serve as chairman of the council, while Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas will serve as co-chairmen.
The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Political and Other Matters, Ibrahim Masari, was named deputy chairman, while Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin will serve as secretary.
The statement read, “Uzodimma will chair the National Campaign Council, while Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, will serve as co-chairmen.
“Senior Special Assistant to the President on Political and Other Matters, Ibrahim Masari, will serve as Deputy Chairman, while the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, will function as Secretary of the council.
“The council comprises governors, members of the National Working Committee, principal officers of the National Assembly, ministers, federal and state lawmakers, party leaders and other stakeholders drawn from across the country.”
Basiru added that specialised sub-committees had also been constituted to coordinate the campaign.
They include Election Planning and Management, Finance and Resource Mobilisation, Contact, Grassroots Engagement and Mobilisation, Logistics and Campaign Management, Monitoring and Compliance, Protocol, Media and Publicity, Security, Youth Mobilisation, Special Interest (Persons with Disabilities) Mobilisation, Women’s Mobilisation and Secretariat.
“The inauguration of the National Campaign Council and its Sub-Committees is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at the Transcorp Hilton Event Centre, Abuja at 12:00 Noon,” the notice added.
The APC is fielding former Commissioner for Finance, Bola Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO, who emerged as the party’s consensus governorship candidate after consultations among key stakeholders.
He will face the incumbent governor, Adeleke, in what is expected to be a keenly contested election widely seen as a political test ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Reacting to Omisore’s appointment, the Chairman of the Omisore Campaign Organisation, Mr Ajibola Famurewa, dismissed suggestions that the former deputy governor was drifting away from the APC, saying he would accept the assignment as a loyal party member.
“I have not spoken with Otunba Omisore, and I have not seen the list too. If Otunba Omisore’s name is there, as a former deputy governor, senator, and national secretary of the party, it is the tradition to list people of that calibre in the campaign council, especially from Osun State.
“That is the tradition of the party. On whether he will accept or not, as a party man, he will. It depends on the assignment given to him within the council.
“You talked about him not attending the flag-off; was he properly informed? He was not properly invited to that flag-off,” Famurewa said.
He maintained that Omisore and several other APC leaders who missed the campaign flag-off received their invitations barely 24 hours before the event, making it difficult for them to attend.
punch.ng
FOLLOW US ON:
