The immediate past Chairman of the Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Bola Oyebamiji, has been confirmed as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for next year’s governorship election in Osun State.
Oyebamiji’s emergence followed affirmation by the 1,660 delegates at the party’s primary, after he was nominated by one aspirant, Mr. Kunle Adegoke, SAN, and seconded by another, Senator Babajide Omoworare.
Following the nominations, the Chairman of the primary election committee, Governor Monday Okpebholo, called for a voice vote, which saw unanimous support from all delegates.
“By the power conferred on me as Chairman of the primary committee, I hereby declare Bola Oyebamiji, AMBO, as the candidate of our party,” he announced.
Before the primaries, the there was trouble in the party after seven aspirants were disqualified, including the former immediate national secretary of the party, Iyiola Omisore
The screening panel said those dropped failed to meet the requirement of securing a nomination from party members across all local government areas.
Many aspirants disagreed, arguing that the rule was not applied fairly and that the process had been influenced by forces outside the state.
As the tension grew, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the leader of the party, invited some of the aspirants to Abuja for a meeting. While a few of them later said they had resolved their issues after the discussion, Omisore remained one of the most vocal critics of the screening outcome.
He insisted the process was flawed and accused some individuals of feeding the president incomplete information. He, however, maintained that the president should not be blamed for decisions taken based on what he was told.
Oyebamiji, who hails from Ikire, was the Commissioner for Finance during the administrations of former Governors Rauf Aregbesola and Gboyega Oyetola.
Before his tenure as Commissioner, Oyebamiji was the Managing Director/CEO of Omoluabi Holdings Limited (formerly OSICOL).
In 2023, he served as Special Adviser to Gboyega Oyetola, the pioneer Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, before he was appointed CEO of the National Inland Waterways Authority.
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