Ismaeel Aleem
Former Senate leader and three-time Oyo State governorship candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin, has declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is fully prepared to capture the state in the 2027 elections, having “learnt its lessons” from successive defeats in 2019 and 2023.
Speaking on Friday at the Olubadan Palace shortly after his elevation from Aare Alaasa Olubadan to Agbaakin Olubadan of Ibadanland by the Olubadan, Oba Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja, Folarin told journalists that party leaders and chieftains have buried past differences and resolved to work as a united front.
“We have learnt our lessons. We are more experienced now. All the leaders are coming together; we must love the party, pull together, and win in 2027,” he stated, emphasising that internal unity is now the priority.
Folarin, who was the APC governorship candidate in the last two cycles, revealed that he recently held a productive meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja, during which he assured the President that the party possesses both the capacity and the strategy to deliver Oyo State.
“I told Mr President that we have the capacity to reclaim Oyo State. The meeting went very well. We brainstormed on how to improve our results. He understands the strategic importance of Oyo politics,” Folarin said.
He stressed that the APC will intensify grassroots mobilisation and sell the party’s message more effectively across the state ahead of the next general election.
The former senator also described his new traditional title as a higher call to serve the people of Ibadanland and Oyo State, pledging to use the platform to advance peace, development, and political progress.
Oyo State has remained under Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) control since 2019, with Governor Seyi Makinde winning re-election in 2023 after defeating Folarin.
