••• Confident of Victory as INEC begins Candidates list Upload
A coalition of community stakeholders and supporters under the banner of the Grassroots Advancement Forum has declared that Otunba (Dr.) Toba Oloyede, widely known as DTO, is not only the most qualified aspirant for the Irepodun/Isin/Ekiti/Oke Ero Federal Constituency ticket of the All Progressives Congress, but the only aspirant whose profile, reach and personal history give the party a genuine and convincing chance of victory in the 2027 general elections.
The statement comes in the wake of the APC primary election for the constituency, following which Otunba Oloyede himself addressed his teeming supporters across all four local government areas with words that captured the spirit of a leader grounded in faith and unwavering in purpose. Speaking from the depths of his heart, he called on supporters, committed stakeholders, community leaders, vibrant youths, courageous women and revered elders to remain absolutely calm, focused and resolute as the party awaits the official list of candidates to be submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission. He expressed firm trust that when the final list is released, it will reflect the true democratic will of the people and speak the language of justice, fairness and transparency. Do not be shaken by rumours, he urged. Do not be unsettled by speculation. Hold your ground. Stay united. Keep the faith.
In the same address, Otunba Oloyede paid heartfelt tribute to His Excellency, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, describing him as a leader who has truly changed the story of Kwara State. He commended the Governor for demonstrating the rare quality of a statesman who rises above personal interest to protect a level playing ground for all aspirants, ensuring that the primary process was conducted with fairness in both conduct and appeal. He called on all people of the constituency to continue standing firmly behind the Governor’s visionary leadership. He equally commended the state and national leadership of the APC for the maturity and statesmanship shown in managing the dynamics of a competitive primary season, expressing confidence that the outcome of the process will make every APC member proud.
It is against this backdrop of calm confidence and demonstrated character that the Grassroots Advancement Forum made its case. In a statement jointly signed by its Coordinator and Secretary, the Forum declared that among all those who have indicated interest in the seat, Otunba Oloyede stands alone as an aspirant whose acceptability cuts across all four local government areas and who commands the respect and goodwill of partisans and non-partisans alike. That combination, the group argued, is not a political luxury. In a constituency as diverse and politically complex as Irepodun/Isin/Ekiti/Oke Ero, it is the only foundation on which a winning coalition can be built.
What sets Otunba Oloyede apart from every other aspirant begins not in a boardroom or a party office, but in the red laterite roads and early morning markets of the constituency itself. He grew up here. He understands the fog that settles over the farms of Irepodun at dawn, the rhythms of trade in Oke Ero, the drumbeats that rise from Ekiti during the seasons, and the social texture of Isin as only a son of the soil can know it. That early childhood in this constituency is not a biographical footnote. It is the source of a bond that no amount of campaign spending or political manoeuvring can manufacture. Elders remember him as a young man of character. The middle-aged remember him as a peer who never forgot where he came from. The youth recognise in him a leader who speaks their language and takes their aspirations seriously. This generational reach is rare in any constituency, and it is something none of the other aspirants can credibly claim.
The Forum was emphatic on what it described as the defining electoral reality of the 2027 contest: no aspirant in this race commands support across all four local government areas the way Otunba Oloyede does. Other aspirants may carry their home local government. Some may have pockets of influence in one or two communities. But a candidate who cannot compete meaningfully across all four councils is a candidate who will lose before the general election is even called. Otunba Oloyede is the only aspirant for whom that four-council spread is a genuine strength rather than a distant aspiration. His acceptance cuts across religious lines with equal ease. In a constituency that is home to both a substantial Christian population and a significant Muslim community, the ability to speak authentically to both is not a given. Pastors and imams speak of him not as a politician seeking votes, but as a community member who has consistently shown genuine regard for the values they hold. That kind of cross-religious goodwill is a political asset of the highest order, and it belongs exclusively to him among the current field of aspirants.
Beyond the faith communities, Otunba Oloyede’s standing within the Igbomina-Ekiti traditional council is another dimension of his strength that no other aspirant comes close to matching. The royal fathers and chiefs of this constituency are not passive observers of political affairs. They are the custodians of community memory, the voices that shape opinion in the compounds and farmsteads where ordinary votes are quietly decided. The reciprocal respect he has earned from the Igbomina-Ekiti traditional council over many years is well known and well documented. When the royal fathers of a constituency speak well of a candidate, it is not a ceremonial endorsement. It is a signal that flows through every household, every market, every place of worship and every community gathering. That signal is firmly behind Otunba Oloyede, and no other aspirant in this race can make the same claim.
The same breadth of acceptance runs through every occupational and social group within the constituency. The market women of Isin and Irepodun know him as someone who understands the economics of their daily struggle and has a concrete plan to give their businesses the institutional support they have long deserved. The artisans, carpenters, welders, tailors and mechanics across the four councils speak of his commitment to formalise their trades, fund their tools and connect their skills to government contracts. Civil servants recognise in him an advocate who understands their frustrations with delayed promotions, inadequate housing support and a pension system that has failed too many retired colleagues. Students and youth groups see a leader with the educational depth and personal investment in digital access and scholarships to open doors that have long been closed to them. The transporters whose vehicles bear the punishment of every unmaintained road in the constituency see a man who has pledged to relentlessly pursue federal road rehabilitation funding and protect commercial operators from exploitative levies. In a constituency of this breadth and complexity, that kind of universal reach is not merely admirable. It is decisive.
Perhaps the most telling measure of Otunba Oloyede’s unique position in this race is the support he commands from the constituency’s non-partisan community, those educated, civic-minded citizens who have deliberately kept their distance from party politics out of disillusionment with a cycle of promises made and broken. These are the people who are hardest to win and who, in a competitive general election, most often determine the outcome. None of the other aspirants has made a serious, credible case to this community. Otunba Oloyede has done so with structural specificity, committing to open constituency development committees in each local government area whose membership will be drawn from civil society, professional bodies and community groups with no party loyalty test, and pledging to publish annual public reports accounting for every federal allocation received, every project executed and every bill sponsored. He has invited independent scrutiny of his performance rather than running from it. The non-partisans of this constituency have taken notice. No other aspirant has given them a reason to.
Otunba Oloyede brings to this race a professional profile that is without parallel in the field. His background spans medical training, information technology certifications in cybersecurity and systems audit, a Master of Business Administration and a project management certification, all earned across years of active professional practice. He has organised for the APC across four election cycles without abandoning the constituency when it was not convenient. He understands how federal budgets are constructed, how ministries are persuaded and how the quiet alliances that produce real results for constituencies are built. His vision is not a generalised wish list but a detailed, cross-sectoral development agenda covering markets, schools, security, healthcare, artisan empowerment, civil service welfare, traditional and religious leadership, and digital access. It is the kind of programme that only someone who has spent real time listening to real people across all four local governments could produce.
The Grassroots Advancement Forum addressed the question of the primary selection directly and without equivocation: giving the APC ticket to any other aspirant is a risk the party cannot afford to take in this constituency. An aspirant who is strong in only one local government will haemorrhage votes in the other three. An aspirant who is unknown to the non-partisan community will fail to attract the swing votes that decide competitive general elections. An aspirant who has no credible record of sustained community engagement will struggle to hold the diverse coalition of Christians and Muslims, youth and elders, artisans and professionals, traditional leaders and market women that this constituency requires. These are not hypothetical weaknesses. They are the measurable gaps that separate every other aspirant in this field from the man the constituency already knows, already trusts and is already waiting for. Otunba (Dr.) Toba Oloyede is the only aspirant who does not carry any of those vulnerabilities. He is the only aspirant who can walk into a campaign rally in Isin and receive the same warmth he would receive in Oke Ero, Ekiti or Irepodun. He is the only aspirant whom the youth, the women, the faith communities, the traditional council and the professional class can all point to without hesitation.
“APC can win this constituency in 2027. But it can only win with DTO. He is not the best option among several strong options. He is the option. The party leadership, the delegates and every member who wants to see this seat remain with the APC must recognise that simple truth and act on it.”
The Grassroots Advancement Forum called on APC party leaders, delegates, community stakeholders, traditional rulers and all citizens of goodwill across Irepodun, Isin, Ekiti and Oke Ero to unite behind Otunba (Dr.) Toba Oloyede, expressing full confidence that with him as its flagbearer, the APC will not only retain the seat but forge the kind of broad, durable and people-centred political coalition that will define representation in the constituency for years to come. As Otunba Oloyede himself reminded his supporters in the wake of the primary, the sacrifices made are seen, every contribution is valued, and every name is written permanently in the story of this moment. God bless the good people of Irepodun/Isin/Ekiti/Oke Ero Federal Constituency.
