Olubiyi Fadeyi, who represents Osun Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, has urged APC members to back President Bola Tinubu after losing the party’s senatorial primary for the 2027 ticket.
Fadeyi lost the APC senatorial primary on Monday to Adekunle Adegoke (SAN), but in a statement issued in Osogbo on Friday he said support for Tinubu’s bid was "not only a strategic decision but also a reaffirmation of the party’s core principles and long-term goals." He asked delegates and party faithfuls to come out in large numbers and vote for the president, saying, "Now is the time to demonstrate our loyalty to the party and our belief in the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I call on all APC faithfuls to stand firm, remain committed, and support his candidacy for the progress and stability of our great nation," and described Tinubu as "a visionary leader whose commitment to national development, democratic values, and progressive governance has continued to inspire confidence across the country,"
The appeal came as the Osun APC primary process also produced Francis Fadahunsi as the party’s candidate for Osun East in the 2027 general elections. In a video clip obtained by The PUNCH, Bayo Ayo read out the result and said Fadahunsi scored 23,593 votes to defeat Mr Famurewa Isreal, who got 472 votes, and Mr Thomas Ogungbangbe, who received 806 votes.
The result leaves Fadeyi in a stark position inside his new party. He was one of five lawmakers elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party in 2023 who defected to the APC in 2025, and he is the only one of that group to have failed to secure a re-election ticket on the APC platform. For the party in Osun, the primaries have now settled two questions at once: who carries the senatorial banner, and who will help drive the broader push around Tinubu’s presidential primary campaign.
That is why Fadeyi’s message matters now. He has lost his own race, but he is asking the party to close ranks behind Tinubu anyway, and the size of the Osun primary turnout will show whether that call is answered or simply heard.
