Osun 2026: APC Left us Stranded After Political Invitation, Osun Students Allege

 

By Abel Chigozie 

The Oriade Students Union (ORIASU) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council in Oriade Local Government of abandoning students after inviting them to a political engagement with the party's governorship candidate during preparations for the 2026 Osun governorship election.

The allegation is contained in an open letter dated August 2, 2026, signed by the union's President, FAYAO Saheed, and co-signed by indigenous student presidents across the 12 wards of Oriade Local Government and members of the union's Central Executive Council.

According to the letter, APC leaders contacted the union on July 16, inviting it to a meeting scheduled for the following day in Ijebu-Ijesha with the party's governorship candidate, Alhaji Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji. The union alleged that it was repeatedly assured by APC officials that transportation, accommodation and other logistics for participating students would be adequately catered for.

Despite the short notice, the union said it mobilised students from tertiary institutions across Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Ile-Ife. The union president said he also travelled from Lagos to Ijebu-Ijesha early on the day of the meeting to lead the delegation.

ORIASU claimed that 14 student representatives arrived at the venue and waited for several hours alongside representatives of other organisations, including the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the League of Imams.

However, the students alleged that after the APC governorship candidate arrived late in the evening, they were informed by Hon. Oluwole Oke that the candidate would no longer meet with the invited associations because of time constraints and would instead proceed to address party supporters at IK Dairo Park.

The union said the development left many students stranded late at night after travelling long distances based on assurances given by the campaign council.

According to the letter, the union leadership later met Hon. Aboge Felix, Hon. Nathaniel Agunbiade and Hon. Bunmi Obeisun at the latter's residence, where they allegedly received ₦100,000 as emergency assistance.

The union, however, maintained that the money was insufficient to cover transportation and accommodation for all the students. It said six members shared part of the funds to return home that night, while five others, including the union president, secured accommodation at Alice and Dave Hotel at a total cost of ₦56,000.

ORIASU further alleged that no additional financial support was provided the following day, forcing its president to personally pay the transportation costs of the remaining students. The union also claimed that its president and Sports Director paid for members' feeding during the prolonged wait at the event.

The students accused the APC leadership in Oriade Local Government of failing to honour the commitments allegedly made before the invitation. They also claimed that repeated attempts to seek reimbursement and resolve the issue privately after the event had yielded no meaningful response.

The union stated that it possesses call logs, hotel receipts, transportation records and other documents to support its claims, adding that the evidence would be made available if required.

While insisting that the open letter was not intended to embarrass the APC or create political tension ahead of the August 15 governorship election, ORIASU called on the party's leadership in Oriade Local Government to fulfil the promises allegedly made regarding logistics, accommodation and related expenses.

As of the time of filing this report, Hon. Oluwole Oke, Hon. Aboge Felix and the APC Campaign Council in Oriade Local Government had not issued any public response to the allegations.

The allegations remain those of the Oriade Students Union, and the APC leadership is yet to publicly present its own account of the events.