The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, has openly rejected the proposed zoning of the party’s 2026 governorship ticket in Osun State.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Basiru—who represented Osun Central Senatorial District in the Senate between 2019 and 2023—argued that zoning has no basis in the APC constitution. He maintained that every qualified party member should be allowed to contest, regardless of their senatorial district.
“Zoning is not in our constitution. People should be free to contest,” he wrote. “When you insist on zoning, aren’t you going to canvass votes in other zones whose aspirants you have denied? I’m not in support of zoning.”
He warned that enforcing zoning could undermine internal democracy and alienate party members and voters from zones excluded by the arrangement. Instead, he called for an emphasis on merit and party unity over regional considerations.
Basiru’s position comes amid growing calls from some APC stakeholders to zone the governorship ticket to Osun West Senatorial District. Reports suggest the party may be leaning toward a preferred candidate from the region, allegedly backed by Minister of Marine and Blue Economy and former governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
Basiru, who lost his Senate seat to PDP’s Fadeyi Oluwole Olubiyi in 2023, currently serves as the national scribe of the APC.
