Iyabo Obasanjo, daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has expressed confidence in her chances of emerging as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State ahead of the 2027 election.
Speaking on Channels Television on Thursday, Obasanjo said her popularity gives her an advantage, adding that the party’s plan to adopt a consensus arrangement could work in her favour.
“I think it is an advantage for me. Many of (other) candidates have not declared but they’ve been doing things that indicated they would run, and then there’s no new candidate declaring now for the governorship in Ogun much later than I declared,” she said.
She said some of her potential rivals have not engaged with voters, noting that her campaign involves visits to communities to speak about her ambition.
Obasanjo said her support base is linked to her record in public office rather than financial inducement.
“For me, I think it is an advantage and I feel very confident of my popularity on the ground. My popularity is not based on money inducement, it is based on my performance I had as a commissioner for health and as a senator,” she said.
“As a senator in my district, everybody still says I performed the best. You can ask the man on the street, you can go to the marketplace,” she added.
On the adoption of consensus by the party, she said the process would reflect the views of party members and voters.
“I do believe that consensus can bring the right candidates because consensus does not mean that leadership ignores the will of the people; consensus means that they look at what the people are saying. No party wants to lose, so the party will not choose people that open them for a loss,” she said.
She added that the approach would favour candidates with support among voters.
“The consensus is going to come towards people that can actually win on the ground, because at the end of the day, the party wants to win,” she said.
Iyabo Obasanjo recently moved from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC as part of her preparations for the 2027 election.
The use of consensus remains one of the methods recognised under Nigeria’s electoral law for selecting candidates, alongside direct primaries and continues to shape party strategies ahead of the next general election.
