A governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State, Senator Fatai Buhari, has declared support for direct primaries ahead of the party’s governorship ticket contest for the 2027 general elections.

Buhari, who represents Oyo North Senatorial District in the Senate, spoke on Monday during a meeting with the Oyo APC executive led by the state Chairman, Moses Adeyemo, at the party secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan.

The senator expressed confidence in the APC leadership to organise a transparent and credible primary process, insisting that any aspirant afraid of facing others in an election should not emerge as the party’s candidate.

“The leadership of APC is known and respected for the position I am occupying today as a result of my principles, competence and credibility, which are good enough to guarantee free and fair primaries in the state,” Buhari said.

“Any aspirant who is afraid of going into primaries with others is not competent to be the flag bearer of APC because the candidature of such a person cannot give the party the deserved victory in the general elections,” he added.

Earlier, the Oyo APC Chairman and former deputy governor, Moses Adeyemo, said the party was prepared to conduct free, fair and credible direct primaries where consensus arrangements fail.

Speaking while receiving members of the APC Screening and Appeal Committee sent from the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Adeyemo stated that efforts were ongoing to achieve consensus among aspirants.

“We have already set machinery in motion to achieve consensus across the board, but reports available to me indicate that we may have to adopt the second option, which is direct primaries in certain cases, including the governorship ticket,” he said.

“To this end, we shall work towards organising free, fair and credible exercises in all the affected areas, even as we cannot rule out the possibility of some aspirants having a rethink and supporting the consensus arrangement where necessary,” he added.

Buhari, who described himself as one of the leading aspirants among the 10 screened for the governorship race, said he possessed the competence and experience required to govern the state.

He also pledged support for the party secretariat, promising to provide solar-powered lights and computer systems to aid operations.

The lawmaker donated N5m to the Oyo APC and an additional N2m to members of the party executive.

In his remarks, Adeyemo commended Buhari for projects facilitated across Oyo North Senatorial District, especially in the Oke-Ogun axis, and appreciated his continued support for the party.

The meeting was attended by Buhari’s supporters from the 33 local government areas of the state.

The latest development comes amid growing debate within the Oyo APC over the mode of selecting its governorship candidate after some stakeholders reportedly endorsed Senator Sharafadeen Alli as a consensus aspirant.

However, other aspirants, including former Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, former Deputy Governor Rauf Olaniyan, Akeem Agbaje and Buhari, have all insisted on direct primaries.