Inside Iyabo Obasanjo’s 125 days in APC: The ambition, drama, exit

  Former senator and governorship aspirant, Prof. Iyabo Obasanjo, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing persistent disrespect, rejection, and maltreatment by the party’s leadership in Ogun State. Obasanjo, the first daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, announced her resignation in a letter dated May 31, addressed to the Ogun State APC Chairman, […]

 

Former senator and governorship aspirant, Prof. Iyabo Obasanjo, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing persistent disrespect, rejection, and maltreatment by the party’s leadership in Ogun State.

Obasanjo, the first daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, announced her resignation in a letter dated May 31, addressed to the Ogun State APC Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi.

Daily Trust reports that her exit comes barely 125 days after she joined the ruling party and just over a month after she lost the APC governorship ticket.

The former senator, who represented Ogun Central between 2007 and 2011, completed her registration as an APC member on January 27, 2026. Her participation in the party’s e-registration exercise at Ibogun, Ward 11, in the Ifo Local Government Area of the state marked her return to active politics after nearly 15 years.

A renowned epidemiologist and former Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Iyabo lost her senatorial re-election bid in 2011 to Senator Gbenga Obadara of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

She subsequently relocated to the United States to pursue her academic career, rising to the rank of professor.

While initial reports of her joining the APC were dismissed as rumors, she formally confirmed her membership and declared her 2027 gubernatorial ambition on Saturday, February 7, during an interactive program on Eagle 103.7 FM, anchored by Nigerian football legend Segun Odegbami.

Explaining her choice, she stated she could not return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) due to “all kinds of turmoil” within the party.

She also noted that while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was an option, the coalition party did not have its “ducks in a row yet.”

“So, I think APC is my natural home. I don’t have any animosity towards any individual or group within the APC. I have an absolute 100 percent feeling it’s my natural home,” she said at the time.

Entering the race as a late entrant, she instantly ruffled feathers in the battle for the APC ticket, competing against heavyweights like the Senator representing Ogun West, Solomon Adeola (Yayi); three-time gubernatorial candidate Gboyega Isiaka; House of Representatives member Isiak Akinlade; and Nigeria’s former High Commissioner to the UK, Sarafa Tunji Isola.

Yet, she insisted on the top job. “I am not interested in being a deputy governor. If I came into this race to be governor… I’m not in this race for deputy governor. I’m not in it for a ministerial appointment,” she told journalists.

 

Her father’s role

While her push for the ticket lasted, many analysts believed her father, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, played a significant role behind the scenes.

However, his notoriously critical stance toward the ruling party and President Bola Tinubu was seen as a double-edged sword.“My father is both an advantage and a disadvantage,” Iyabo admitted during an interview on Fresh FM, Abeokuta. “Part of who I am is being my father’s daughter, but does that mean I am special or different? I am like any human being. I hurt when things are bad and I am happy when things are good.”

On Saturday, April 4, the elder Obasanjo set tongues wagging across political circles when he made a rare appearance alongside President Tinubu at the inauguration of the Gateway International Cargo Airport in Iperu, Ogun State.

Surprisingly, Obasanjo wore a full Tinubu-insignia agbada made of Adire fabric—matching the attire of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, host governor Dapo Abiodun, and other top loyalists.

Video clips online showed Tinubu bowing in deep respect to Obasanjo and former Ogun State Governor Chief Olusegun Osoba upon arrival. Many political observers interpreted Obasanjo’s choice of attire as a subtle attempt to court the presidency’s backing for his daughter’s ambition.

 

Losing the ticket and the fallout

The political maneuvering came to a head on April 13, when APC leaders in Ogun State, including Governor Dapo Abiodun and former governors Osoba, Ibikunle Amosun, and Gbenga Daniel, unanimously adopted Senator Solomon Adeola (Yayi) as the consensus governorship candidate.

That same night, Iyabo became the first aspirant to concede, issuing a statement that read: “I congratulate him and wish him every success… Based on these developments, I have decided to suspend my gubernatorial aspiration.”

On April 28, Adeola sought to cement party unity by visiting Iyabo and her supporters at her father’s Hilltop residence in Abeokuta. Following a closed-door meeting, Adeola promised integration: “I am ready to inherit your manifesto… One, two, or three people from your group must be part of my campaign team. Nobody will be left out.”

 

Quitting the ‘Table of disrespect’

However, the truce was short-lived. In her May 31 resignation letter, Iyabo voiced sharp dissatisfaction with how the consensus arrangement was handled, alleging that the process violated the party’s own guidelines.

“When that day came, even as violence was perpetrated against my supporters to stop them from entering the venue, I maintained my calmness,” she wrote to the state chairman. “At the venue, with no prior meeting with me as a candidate… a candidate was announced. No one acknowledged my presence at the meeting, despite the fact that I was the most prominent opposition to the candidate chosen.”

She also revealed that during her post-consensus meeting with Senator Adeola, her team made three simple integration requests. Adeola promised to respond within a week, but more than a month passed without feedback.

“Unless he gets back to me after I send this letter, he has not reached out to me,” she wrote. “This is just part of the general treatment I have received from APC — disrespect and rejection.”

Concluding her letter with a famous adage, she stated: “A famous person once said that when disrespect is the only dish served, then one should leave the table. I am therefore leaving the APC table where I am not welcomed. This is my resignation from the party.”

 

She nonetheless extended her gratitude to President Tinubu and local leaders like the Ogun Central Senatorial Chairman, Chief Soremi, for their warmth during her short stay.

When contacted, the Ogun State APC Publicity Secretary, Femi Nuberu, stated that the party secretariat had not yet officially received the letter.

“The party has not received any letter to that effect,” he said.

Despite the party’s stance, strong indications from her political camp suggest the former senator may rejoin the PDP in the coming days.