A leadership dispute has emerged within the African Democratic Congress in Oyo State as two factions within the party claim authority over the Membership Revalidation and Membership Registration (MRMR) Committee responsible for the ongoing membership exercise.
The disagreement escalated when the state leadership of the party reaffirmed Ayo Akinyemi as the recognised chairman of the committee, rejecting claims from another faction that a separate committee had been constituted.
This clarification was provided by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Bimpe Adelowo, during a press conference held at the party’s secretariat in Mokola.
Adelowo stated that Akinyemi remains the legitimate chairman of the MRMR Committee in the state, while Folake Tafita serves as the committee’s secretary. She emphasised that both officials are the only recognised representatives of the committee in Oyo State.
The controversy followed an earlier development involving Bisi Ilaka, who on Monday announced the names of ten additional members of what he described as his own committee. Ilaka unveiled the list during a press briefing at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Press Centre located in Iyaganku.
Responding to that announcement, Adelowo insisted that the only committee recognised by the national leadership of the African Democratic Congress is the one led by Akinyemi.
She explained that the committee was officially inaugurated on February 12, 2026 in Abuja by the national leadership of the party.
Adelowo said the committee was properly constituted with representatives drawn from the three senatorial districts in Oyo State and tasked with overseeing the membership revalidation and registration exercise.
“There is no other committee saddled with this function in Oyo State. We only know of one committee, and that is the committee whose names were submitted to Abuja,” Adelowo said.
She explained that the committee was designed to ensure balanced representation across the three senatorial districts of the state, with three members representing each district alongside the chairman and secretary who serve as principal officers.
Adelowo added that the committee reflects the party’s inclusive outlook, noting that its members include individuals from several political backgrounds such as the Labour Party, the All Progressives Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party, and the African Democratic Congress, as well as individuals who are not indigenes of Oyo State.
“It’s a party that cuts across all sectors. We are not religiously biased and neither are we ethnically biased,” she said.
She also urged individuals organising parallel activities relating to the membership exercise to desist and instead align with the officially recognised structure of the party.
“Anyone that is doing something else should just conserve their energy and come back to the fold so that we can push this party forward.”
“It does not pay anyone to sit behind the fence or on the fence and continue to throw tantrum inside in order to distort the progress we are making,” she said.
Adelowo further stated that the party has already established operational structures across the 33 local government areas of Oyo State and has recorded significant progress in strengthening its grassroots presence.
“We have made a lot of progress across the 33 local governments. We have our structures there, and the funny thing is that they are still beckoning on our structures, the local government chairmen of the party, to come and submit the names of our members to them,” she said.
“Only constituted authorities have the power to request for the names of members and not somebody that has not been given any responsibility.”
She also used the opportunity to encourage prospective members to join the party as preparations continue toward the 2027 general elections.
“So we use this opportunity to encourage all the prospective members to come inside and join the forces here in order to uplift our party and to deliver Oyo State for ADC in 2027,” Adelowo said.
Adelowo revealed that the party had already begun preparing members for the revalidation and registration process even before the official inauguration of the MRMR Committee.
“You can see that we are a business-minded party. Even before the inauguration of the MRMR Committee in Oyo State, we had a committee in place which had been working to educate our members on how to revalidate and register,” she said.
She explained that the MRMR Committee inaugurated in Abuja was given a one-month mandate to carry out the exercise across the state.
“This MRMR Committee inaugurated on February 12, 2026 in Abuja has just one month to conduct the exercise.”
“By God’s grace, the mandate of the committee will soon elapse and I know by that time many of our members must have been registered,” she added.
Adelowo also commended the cooperation of party chairmen across the 33 local government areas, describing the level of participation in the ongoing exercise as encouraging.
The MRMR Committee is chaired by Ayo Akinyemi, with Folake Tafita serving as secretary.
Other members include Prince Fatai Adewale Ladigbolu, Hon. Olusola Alade and Asiwaju Kunle Adeogun Mutairu representing Oyo South, while Alhaji Biliaminu Onifade, Alhaji Kabir Adesiyan and Mrs Juliana Igwe represent Oyo Central.
Members representing Oyo North are Hon. Kolawole Ogunleye, Ilufemiloye Daniel Oladele and Dr Adebowale Oke.
Providing further details about the exercise, Akinyemi said the membership revalidation and registration process has been progressing steadily across the state since the committee was inaugurated.
“The National MRMR Committee inaugurated our committee on the 12th of February, 2026 in Abuja, with a clear mandate to coordinate and supervise the membership revalidation and fresh registration exercise in Oyo State,” he said.
According to him, the committee moved quickly to establish grassroots structures by inaugurating MRMR committees across all the 33 local government areas on February 16.
“In furtherance of this mandate, on February 21, 2026, the State MRMR Committee organised a comprehensive training session for representatives from all the 33 local government areas,” he said.
“During the training, participants were taken through the procedures, guidelines and operational processes for the membership revalidation and registration exercise to ensure uniformity, transparency and efficiency across the state.”
He explained that before the official online registration portal was activated, local government committees were directed to begin manual registration in collaboration with party officers to ensure that interested members could participate without delay.
Following the launch of the online registration portal on March 1, the committee also directed local MRMR committees to establish flexible registration stations to assist members who might encounter difficulties with the digital process.
“These stations were designed to assist members who may encounter challenges with the online process, particularly those without Android-enabled smartphones or adequate internet access,” he said.
Akinyemi noted that participation in the exercise has improved significantly after an initially moderate turnout.
“From the situation reports we continue to receive from across the 33 local government areas, the initial turnout during the early days of the exercise was moderate. However, we are pleased to report that participation has significantly increased in recent days,” he said.
He, however, identified certain challenges affecting participation, including the absence of National Identification Numbers among some prospective members and limited access to smartphones in rural communities.
“For instance, a number of individuals willing to register currently do not possess National Identification Numbers, which is a requirement for the online registration process.”
“Additionally, many rural dwellers do not own Android-enabled phones, which has created some barriers to online participation,” he said.
To address these challenges, he said the committee has deployed trained volunteers and party officials to assist residents in rural communities while also intensifying public awareness campaigns through flyers, radio programmes, social media engagement and the distribution of audio and video campaign materials.
“These coordinated efforts are already yielding positive results as awareness continues to grow and more citizens are registering to become members of the African Democratic Congress,” Akinyemi said.
What you should know
The African Democratic Congress has been intensifying efforts to strengthen its grassroots structures ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
Membership revalidation and fresh registration exercises are part of the party’s strategy to update its database and attract new members nationwide. However, internal disputes such as the current leadership disagreement in Oyo State highlight ongoing factional tensions within some political parties as they prepare for future electoral contests.
Resolving such conflicts is often crucial for party cohesion, credibility, and effective mobilisation of supporters at the state and national levels.
