Alagbe, Aborisade: May 22 Primary Gave Us ADC Ticke – ‘Aregbesola Hijacked Process After Alagbe Was Declared Winner’
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Dr Gbemileke Alagbe Eleniyan, and his running mate, Barrister Chief Niyi Aborisade BANA, have renewed their claim to the party’s 2027 governorship ticket, insisting that the May 22, 2026 primary election remains the valid basis for their candidacy.
The duo spoke on a morning current affairs programme on ARISE TV on Friday, September 25, 2026, where they gave fresh accounts of the events surrounding the disputed ADC governorship primary in Oyo State.
Alagbe and Aborisade maintained that the May 22 exercise was the primary conducted under the appropriate party structure, insisting that the result produced Alagbe as the winner.
The dispute over the ticket has continued to generate controversy, with the matter now before the courts. The Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan has adjourned further proceedings in the case until September 30, 2026.
‘I Congratulated Alagbe Immediately’ — Aborisade
Recounting the events of the primary, Aborisade, who participated in the contest, said he personally called Alagbe immediately after the May 22 election to congratulate him on his emergence.
Aborisade said his action was based on the result announced at the end of the exercise, which, according to him, established Alagbe as the winner.
He further disclosed that Taofeek Adegboyega Adegoke also contacted him subsequently.
According to Aborisade, he told Adegoke that Alagbe had already won the primary and that, in his understanding, there was no basis for another governorship primary after the May 22 exercise.
Aborisade alleged that Adegoke then informed him that he would organise another election the following day.
He said the subsequent development eventually produced another result and became the basis of the controversy that has continued to trail the ADC governorship ticket in Oyo State.
Aborisade’s account is consistent with his earlier public position that Alagbe won the May 22 primary, in which he said he himself emerged second.
Alagbe: ‘May 22 Was the Constitutionally Organised Primary’
For Alagbe, the central issue is the procedure through which the May 22 primary was organised.
The ADC governorship candidate maintained that the party’s constitutional structure vested responsibility for organising the primary in the appropriate national organising organ.
He said the National Organising Secretary performed that responsibility by sending a representative to supervise the exercise.
According to him, the election was subsequently conducted across Oyo State and the results were collated.
Alagbe has previously stated that the primary was conducted across the state’s 351 wards, with INEC officials present during the process, and that the final result was collated at the University of Ibadan. He also said he obtained a Certified True Copy of the relevant primary-election report.
Reports published after the May 22 exercise also recorded Alagbe as the winner, with one report giving him 15,107 votes, while Aborisade scored 4,307 votes and Adegoke 987 votes.
‘The Process Was Hijacked’ — Alagbe
Alagbe alleged that the situation changed after the May 22 primary, accusing the ADC National Secretary, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, of subsequently interfering with the process.
He alleged that Aregbesola backed a different arrangement that ultimately resulted in Adegoke’s emergence and the displacement of his name.
Alagbe described the development as an attempt to overturn the mandate he said he received from ADC members during the May 22 primary.
He maintained that he never withdrew from the contest and never authorised the substitution of his name.
The ADC candidate had earlier made a similar allegation, telling journalists that his name was replaced after the primary despite his insistence that he had won the election.
Aborisade: ‘The Truth Will Prevail’
Aborisade, who later became Alagbe’s running mate, said the dispute would ultimately be resolved through the judicial process.
He urged members and supporters of the Alagbe-Aborisade camp to remain calm and continue to believe in the legal process.
The former aspirant has repeatedly maintained that the May 22 primary produced Alagbe as the winner and that his subsequent selection as running mate was based on that outcome.
The duo therefore used their appearance on ARISE TV to restate their position that the May 22 primary remains the foundation of their claim to the ADC governorship ticket, while expressing confidence that the ongoing legal proceedings would settle the controversy.
Court Battle Continues
The controversy has persisted following the publication of a different name as ADC’s Oyo State governorship candidate by INEC.
Alagbe subsequently challenged the development, asking that his candidacy be restored. The case before the Federal High Court in Ibadan has attracted fresh applications and procedural issues, leading to the adjournment of proceedings to September 30.
For Alagbe and Aborisade, however, the argument remains straightforward: the May 22 primary produced the mandate, and that mandate, they insist, cannot be replaced by a subsequent parallel process.
They said they would continue to pursue the matter through lawful means while presenting their political programme to the people of Oyo State ahead of the 2027 election.