Former Senator representing Osun Central, Olusola Adeyeye, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will retain the South-West in the 2027 presidential election.
Adeyeye, who serves as the South-West Coordinator of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, said the APC would work to maintain its political strength across the region ahead of the election.
He spoke on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics on Sunday, September 27, 2026, while discussing the chances of the ruling party and the opposition ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.
The former lawmaker said the election would not be an easy contest for any political party.
He maintained that the APC was already working towards victory and would not take the South-West for granted.
“I make bold: anyone from any party who thinks the next election will be easy for it is suffering self-delusion. We in the APC, we work very hard to win, and I want to assure you that we will win,” Adeyeye said.
“I also want to assure you. We will win big. I care that we win the South West, and we’re going to shock everybody.”
Adeyeye further argued that the APC would remain difficult to defeat in the South-West if its members stayed united.
The South-West remains an important part of the presidential contest because of its large voting population and its political significance.
The region comprises Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states.
Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor and a prominent political figure from the South-West, won the 2023 presidential election.
The APC has since continued to strengthen its structures in the region ahead of his re-election bid.
Adeyeye said he did not believe any political party, under the present political arrangement, could defeat the APC in the region if the ruling party remained united.
He also addressed a hypothetical situation in which Tinubu failed to secure the majority of votes in the South-West.
Adeyeye referred to the experience of former President Olusegun Obasanjo during the 1999 presidential election.
“In the worst scenario, let us say that Bola Tinubu lost the South-West; I guarantee you he will not. But if he does, have we forgotten that another Yoruba man lost the South-West and became the President? Did (former President Olusegun) Obasanjo not lose his ward, lose his polling booth, lose his state, lose his zone, lose every state in the South-West and yet become President?” he added.
Adeyeye’s reference was to the 1999 presidential election, when Obasanjo, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, defeated Olu Falae of the Alliance for Democracy and All People’s Party alliance to emerge as president.
The former senator also spoke about the political situation in Osun State, where he expressed confidence that the APC would make gains in the 2027 presidential election.
His comments followed the August 15, 2026 governorship election in Osun, where incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party defeated APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke winner after he polled 511,067 votes against Oyebamiji’s 444,815 votes.
African Democratic Congress candidate Najeem Salaam finished third with 17,180 votes. Adeleke won 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11.
Adeyeye, however, said the outcome of the Osun governorship election should not be viewed as an indication that the APC cannot win the state in the presidential election.
He also discussed the role of former Osun State Governor and former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who is now associated with the African Democratic Congress.
When asked whether Aregbesola could pose a serious challenge to the APC, Adeyeye pointed to the performance of the ADC in the August governorship election.
“How did the ADC perform, even in Ilesa? How did Aregbesola perform in Osun Central, where I come from?”
“If Aregbesola is the candidate, it’s a different matter,” he disclosed.
Adeyeye, however, acknowledged that Aregbesola remains a popular political figure in Osun.
He said the former governor’s personal popularity should not automatically be interpreted as support for another candidate.
“The truth is he’s still a magnificent person, much loved. If he were a candidate, believe you me, anybody would be hard-pressed to beat him in Osun, but where he’s not the candidate, even he must not deceive himself that he can automatically take the affection for him to another person,” he added.
The former senator also stressed the importance of unity within political parties ahead of the 2027 election.
According to him, internal disagreements could affect the performance of any party during the poll.
