The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Saturday endorsed President Bola Tinubu for a second term in office and formally received several defecting members of the National Assembly into its fold at a reception held in Osogbo.

The event, attended by party leaders, stakeholders and supporters, also featured renewed calls for unity within the party ahead of the 2026 governorship election and the 2027 general elections.

Speaking at the gathering, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy and immediate past governor of the state, Adegboyega Oyetola, said the achievements of President Bola Tinubu had positioned him for another term in office.

Oyetola stated that the APC was committed to building “a state where things work. Cooperation among party members would be crucial to electoral success.”

The Minister charged members to return to their various wards and strengthen grassroots mobilisation.

“We must go back to our base. Cooperation and unity are required if we are to win the governorship election in 2026,” he said.

The party’s governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, described the reception as the beginning of the countdown to victory in the forthcoming election.

Oyebamiji said the decision of the defecting lawmakers to join the APC demonstrated their commitment to the people of Osun State.

According to him, their action is a sacrifice made in the interest of the state.

“Our action today is a demonstration of our commitment to the people of Osun. Nothing is greater than to sacrifice for the people of the state,” he said.

He added that the development would bring stability at a time he claimed that the state was drifting towards administrative decline.

“The task before us today transcends individual ambition but safeguarding the future of our children,” Oyebamiji stated.

Urging stakeholders to maintain unity within the party, he stressed that cohesion was not negotiable and noted that the inclusion of the defectors placed them alongside others who had the interest of the state at heart.

“The APC in Osun State is one family. Every voice will count and every contribution will be valid,” he assured.

The Osun APC Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, described the defection of two serving senators and three members of the House of Representatives as unprecedented in Nigeria’s political history.

He said the development should serve as a signal to the current state administration that a political shift was imminent ahead of the August 8, 2026 governorship election.

“We have no doubt that your defection into the APC will bring about meaningful contributions to our party in the August 8, 2026 governorship and the 2027 presidential elections,” Lawal said.

He appealed to the defectors to remain committed to the party’s objectives and support future electoral efforts aimed at what he described as restoring the lost glory of the state.

Lawal assured them that they would not face discrimination within the party and called on members to work collectively for success in the coming elections.

He added that there could be no better time than now to endorse President Tinubu for a second term.

The motion for the endorsement for President Bola Tinubu for a second term was moved by Engr. Sola Akinwumi, Chairman of the Osun APC Elders Caucus, and seconded by Pa Shuaib Oyedokun, after which party members unanimously adopted it through a voice vote.

Those received into the party included Senator Francis Fadahunsi, representing Osun East Senatorial District; Senator Olubiyi Fadeyi of Osun Central Senatorial District; Wole Oke, representing Ijesa North Federal Constituency; Taofeeq Ajilesoro, Ife Federal Constituency; and Olusanya Omirin Olusanya, Ijesa South Federal Constituency.