Folarin’s Visit to Adelabu: Reconciliation Breakthrough or Fresh Test for Oyo APC? The Boye Nation Connection

Former Senate Leader Teslim Folarin’s visit to former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has reopened an important question about the future of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State: is the party finally moving towards genuine reconciliation ahead of the 2027 elections, or are its most influential political figures still pursuing different calculations beneath the surface?

The meeting, reported on Tuesday, October 27, comes barely a week after Folarin publicly declared support for Senator Sharafadeen Alli, the APC’s governorship candidate, and called on aggrieved aspirants to put their differences aside.

It also follows growing speculation about the political implications of Adelabu’s former personal assistant, Ajiboye Sangogade, popularly known as Boye Nation, joining the Allied Peoples Movement (APM). 

Folarin’s latest engagement with Adelabu is significant because it brings two major political actors, whose governorship ambitions and grievances have shaped the APC’s internal crisis, into renewed direct conversation at a time when the party needs a united front.

Yet, while the visit offers a potentially encouraging signal, its real significance will depend on whether the renewed dialogue produces practical cooperation, particularly support for Alli’s candidacy, rather than another public declaration of party loyalty without corresponding political action.

What Folarin said after meeting Adelabu
In a statement shared on his Facebook page after the visit, Folarin disclosed that his meeting with Adelabu centred on party unity, reconciliation, grassroots mobilisation and efforts to secure victory for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other APC candidates in the 2027 general elections.


He also said both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to working with party chieftains and stakeholders to strengthen the APC’s structures and promote reconciliation across Oyo State’s 33 local government areas.

The former Senate Leader equally maintained that his loyalty to Tinubu and commitment to the unity and success of the APC remained firm, expressing confidence that consultations and grassroots mobilisation would improve the party’s electoral prospects.

The statement presents the meeting as a reconciliation initiative rather than a private discussion about political grievances.

However, as of the time of writing this report, Adelabu had not made any direct statement indicating a renewed commitment to campaign for Alli.

That distinction matters. A meeting between two senior politicians can open the door to reconciliation, but it does not automatically mean their disagreements have been resolved.

From Tinubu-only politics to backing Alli
Folarin’s latest engagement must be understood against the background of his earlier position following the controversy surrounding the APC governorship primary.

Like Adelabu and other aggrieved aspirants, Folarin had questioned the process that produced Alli as the party’s candidate. His camp had demanded a fresh exercise, alleging irregularities, while the dispute threatened to weaken the party’s preparations for 2027.

At the time, Folarin and other aggrieved APC figures were willing to support Tinubu’s re-election while withholding full support for Alli’s governorship ambition.

The distinction created a potentially damaging situation for the party: members could campaign for the President nationally while refusing to mobilise for the APC candidate in Oyo State. 

Folarin’s subsequent public declaration of support for Alli on October 19, reported the following day, marked a significant shift.

At the gathering in Ibadan, he raised Alli’s hand and urged party members to support all APC candidates. He acknowledged that aggrieved aspirants had legitimate reasons to feel disappointed, revealing that he had invested 26 years of his life in pursuing his governorship ambition.

He also expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of reconciliation, saying the exercise had achieved only about 20 per cent of its target. 

His message was unmistakable: personal disappointment should not be allowed to destroy the party’s collective prospects.

Folarin’s October 27 visit to Adelabu therefore appears to be a continuation of that position. Having publicly embraced Alli’s candidacy, he is now engaging another influential politician whose acceptance of the party’s governorship arrangement remains critical to APC unity.

The important question is whether Folarin can persuade Adelabu to move beyond support for Tinubu and embrace the party’s entire ticket.

Why Adelabu remains central to the APC crisis
Adelabu is not simply another dissatisfied aspirant. His political influence, previous governorship campaigns and established network of supporters make his position important to the APC’s calculations in Oyo State.

His disappointment followed the emergence of Alli as the party’s candidate amid allegations by rival camps that the selection process was flawed. The resulting division raised concerns about whether the APC could effectively mobilise its various political blocs behind a single governorship candidate.

The party’s national leadership has repeatedly attempted to address the problem. In August, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda met with the state reconciliation committee in Ibadan, but Folarin, Adelabu and several other prominent aggrieved figures were absent.

The absence underscored the difficulty of securing the participation of those whose grievances the exercise was designed to resolve. 

Folarin’s latest visit suggests that reconciliation is increasingly being pursued through direct political engagement, rather than relying exclusively on committee meetings and general appeals for unity.

However, Adelabu’s response remains crucial. If he accepts the outcome of the primary and mobilises his supporters for Alli, the APC could gain considerable ground towards rebuilding its structure. 

If he remains distant from the governorship campaign, the party may continue to face the challenge of having influential members who are formally inside the APC but politically disengaged from its candidate.

The Boye Nation factor: Why APM has become part of the conversation

The political significance of Folarin’s visit becomes clearer when placed alongside developments involving Ajiboye Sangogade, popularly known as Boye Nation.

Sangogade, a former personal assistant to Adelabu, led a group of APC loyalists into the APM, which has become a platform for politicians aligned with Governor Seyi Makinde’s political camp following divisions within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The movement attracted attention because it occurred while Adelabu was still dealing with the fallout from the APC governorship primary.

His photograph featured prominently at the gathering welcoming the new entrants, fuelling speculation about whether the development represented a broader political realignment. 

Sangogade, however, maintained that his decision was independent of Adelabu. He said he had been Adelabu’s personal assistant but was not an APC member, insisting that his political choice should not be attributed to his former principal.

Adelabu subsequently distanced himself from the former aide, saying Sangogade was no longer his personal assistant and that their relationship had ended following irreconcilable differences in their political alignments. Adelabu maintained that he remained in the APC. 

Those clarifications are important. The available reporting does not establish that Adelabu authorised the movement or that the Boye Nation group acted on his instructions.

Nevertheless, the episode has political consequences beyond the individuals involved. It has given the impression that the APM could attract some people dissatisfied with the APC’s internal arrangements, even while senior figures such as Adelabu continue to profess loyalty to the ruling party.

Folarin’s meeting with Adelabu could therefore be viewed partly as an effort to prevent political discontent from developing into a wider organisational split.

It would, however, be premature to conclude that the visit has halted any movement towards the APM or that the two politicians have agreed on how to respond to it.

A reconciliation effort with two different political calculations
One of the most interesting aspects of the meeting is the different political challenges facing Folarin and Adelabu.

Folarin has accepted the responsibility of coordinating Tinubu’s presidential campaign in Oyo State and has publicly declared support for Alli. His immediate political task is to demonstrate that the APC can convert its national backing into a coordinated state-level campaign.

Adelabu, by contrast, must decide how to protect his political interests after failing to secure the governorship ticket. His supporters may expect him to negotiate for greater recognition, inclusion and influence within the party, while the APC leadership will want an unequivocal commitment to its candidate.

These positions are not necessarily irreconcilable. Folarin himself has argued that aggrieved members deserve to be heard and that the party must review how it rewards those who contribute to its growth and electoral success. He has also urged Alli to accommodate experienced party figures rather than sideline them. 

This suggests that reconciliation may require more than asking Adelabu to accept the outcome of the primary. It may also involve credible assurances that his political network and those of other aggrieved aspirants will have meaningful roles in the party’s campaign and future decision-making.

At the same time, accommodation cannot mean creating rival centres of authority that undermine the candidate the APC has already nominated.
The challenge is to achieve a balance between rewarding loyalty, addressing legitimate grievances and maintaining the authority of the party’s recognised candidate.

What the visit means for Alli
For Alli, the meeting is potentially encouraging because it brings Folarin and Adelabu into renewed conversation at a critical stage of preparations for the 2027 election.

Folarin’s public endorsement has already removed one major source of uncertainty. His engagement with Adelabu could help extend that reconciliation to another influential bloc within the party.

However, Alli cannot rely on endorsements alone. His ability to win over aggrieved aspirants will depend on whether he demonstrates political inclusiveness, sustains dialogue and builds a campaign structure that allows different tendencies within the APC to work together.

Folarin’s earlier warning that party members risk political oblivion if they fail to unite reflects the danger confronting the opposition party in Oyo State. The APC wants to challenge the political machinery of the PDP and the emerging APM platform, but internal disagreements could weaken its ability to mount a coherent challenge.

For Alli, the task is to turn the goodwill generated by reconciliation meetings into a functional coalition.

Is APM benefiting from the APC’s internal disagreements?

The APM’s emergence as a destination for some politicians dissatisfied with the APC creates an additional challenge for the ruling party’s principal opposition in Oyo State.

With Governor Makinde’s political camp using the platform ahead of 2027, defections and alignments could affect the balance of political forces in the state. The entry of people associated with Adelabu, even without proof of his direct involvement, has encouraged questions about whether the APM could benefit from unresolved APC grievances.

Still, the movement of a former aide and some supporters does not establish that Adelabu himself intends to defect. Nor does it prove that a coordinated coalition of aggrieved APC leaders is being assembled under the APM.

The more defensible conclusion is that prolonged dissatisfaction creates opportunities for rival parties to attract political actors who feel marginalised. Whether that opportunity translates into a substantial electoral advantage will depend on the number, influence and grassroots reach of those who eventually move.

Folarin’s visit could help reduce that risk if it leads to a broader agreement within the APC. If it produces only reassuring statements without resolving underlying grievances, speculation about alternative political arrangements is likely to persist.

The verdict: A promising signal, not yet a settlement
Objectively, Folarin’s visit to Adelabu is a positive development for the APC’s reconciliation efforts. It demonstrates a willingness to maintain dialogue between two major political figures whose ambitions and grievances have been central to the party’s internal tensions.

It also reinforces Folarin’s transition from a position focused primarily on securing Tinubu’s re-election to publicly supporting Alli and encouraging other aggrieved aspirants to join the state campaign.
But the meeting should not be mistaken for proof that the APC crisis has ended.

The decisive evidence will be what happens next: whether Adelabu publicly endorses Alli, whether his supporters participate in the governorship campaign, whether other aggrieved aspirants accept the reconciliation process and whether the party addresses complaints about candidate selection and political inclusion.

Until those developments become clear, the visit remains a potentially important opening rather than a completed political settlement.

For the APC, the stakes are considerable. It must persuade its members that the party offers a credible path to political relevance, even after losing internal contests. For Folarin, the task is to turn his influence and new campaign responsibility into genuine unity.

For Adelabu, the challenge is to determine whether his political future is better served by negotiating from within the APC or maintaining distance from a governorship arrangement he opposed.

Ultimately, the real test of Folarin’s visit will not be the photograph or the statement issued afterwards, but whether the meeting helps prevent internal grievances from becoming an electoral advantage for the APC’s opponents in 2027.