As the All Progressives Congress, APC, opens its nationwide primaries today, the first wave of political maneuvering is already reshaping contests at the grassroots. In Ondo State’s Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency, a surprise withdrawal has injected a fresh layer of intrigue into what was expected to be a hotly contested race.
Prince Aderosoye Fadola, a frontline aspirant and Fellow Certified Public Accountant, stepped down on Saturday and threw his weight behind incumbent Rep. Festus Akingbaso. The announcement, made in Ilara-Mokin, came just hours before voting was set to begin across the country.
Fadola said the decision followed consultations with family, associates, and party stakeholders, and aligned with directives from the APC national leadership. Framing it as an act of party discipline, he pledged to mobilize his political structure across both local government areas to back Akingbaso through the primaries and into the general election.
The move instantly alters the calculus in Idanre/Ifedore. With a known party chieftain collapsing his structure into the incumbent’s camp, Akingbaso gains both numerical advantage and a signal of party unity that could deter last minute challenges. For Fadola, the step casts him as a loyalist prioritizing party cohesion over personal ambition, a posture that could position him for future roles within the state’s political setup.
Beyond the constituency, Fadola used the moment to align himself with the Tinubu administration’s agenda, praising the President’s leadership and highlighting the appointment of Ondo indigenes Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and Ayodele Olawande to key ministerial roles. His singled-out commendation of Tunji-Ojo hints at the broader alliances and patronage networks likely to influence how votes are consolidated and rewarded after the primaries.
The withdrawal also sets the tone for the dramas expected nationwide today. Across APC strongholds, similar last minute negotiations, endorsements, and strategic surrenders are playing out as aspirants weigh the cost of fighting against party machinery versus securing relevance through alignment. Where unity holds, incumbents may coast. Where it breaks, primaries could produce bitter fallouts that linger into the general elections.
For Idanre/Ifedore, the focus now shifts to how Akingbaso leverages Fadola’s structure on the ground and whether other aspirants respond with counter-moves before ballots are cast. One thing is clear: the primaries are not just about who wins, but about who controls the narrative of unity, and who gets positioned for the next round of political bargaining in Ondo State.
Photo Credit: Roving Reporters
