Tears in Abuja: How Governor Aiyedatiwa Lost Ondo APC to BTO’s Takeover

Ondo State Governor, Mr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, was said to have broken down in tears in Abuja last week prelude to the All Progressives Congress (APC) submission of its final list of National Assembly candidates to INEC — a list that contained none of his nominees.

THE CONCLAVE authoritatively reports that the outcome has effectively stripped the governor of control over APC structures in Ondo and left his political future hanging, with less than 20 months to the end of his tenure in February 2028.

—Zero Senate, Zero House candidates—

None of the Senate and House of Representatives candidates sponsored by Aiyedatiwa made the party’s final list transmitted to INEC.

Instead, the slots went to aspirants backed by the Minister of Interior, Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, popularly known as BTO.

The rout extended to the State House of Assembly. Of the 26 candidates, only 11 are believed to be loyal to the governor.

But even that figure is shaky. Sources say the 11 had to travel to Abuja personally to lobby party leaders to retain their names after BTO’s camp pushed for a clean sweep.

“The governor lost everything in one fell swoop,” a senior APC source in Abuja told THE CONCLAVE. “No Senate. No House. And the House of Assembly is barely hanging.”

—BTO’s “megabucks” takeover–

THE CONCLAVE gathered from APC sources in Ondo and Abuja that BTO has “bought over” the state party structure with backing from national party leaders and some Presidency officials.

Described by insiders as a “natural leader,” the minister is said to have deployed vast financial resources to capture interests in both Akure and Abuja.

“BTO is angling for governor in 2028,” a source disclosed. “He fears Aiyedatiwa will try to anoint a successor, so he moved first to take the structure.”

The governor’s miscalculation, sources say, was financial. Unlike BTO, Aiyedatiwa allegedly chose not to fund his political enterprise early, preferring to focus on personal interests. That decision, sources claim, has now cost him his loyalists, many of whom have quietly or openly shifted to BTO.

—Impeachment plot looms–

With control of the Assembly slipping, talks of impeachment have intensified. Of the 26 Assembly candidates, only 11 are seen as Aiyedatiwa loyalists — a margin too slim to guarantee protection if a removal move is launched before 2028.

THE CONCLAVE learnt that the governor is aware of the plot. His reported breakdown in Abuja came after he realised that APC national leadership had dropped his candidates and replaced them with BTO’s slate.

The crisis has also reached the Presidency. A top official in the Tinubu administration is said to be rooting for BTO’s 2028 ambition.

Aiyedatiwa, sources added, is believed to have fallen out of favour with President Bola Tinubu after what insiders called “imprudent political talks” over the Ondo governorship victory.

–,A governor without a structure–

Constitutionally barred from seeking a third term — having first completed the tenure of the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu — Aiyedatiwa had hoped to play kingmaker. That path now looks blocked.

With BTO consolidating and impeachment whispers growing louder in a House he no longer controls, the governor’s political enterprise in Ondo faces its most existential threat yet.

THE CONCLAVE could not independently verify, at press time, the scale of funds deployed by BTO’s camp to consummate the Ondo APC takeover.

Source: THE CONCLAVE