President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with former Senate Leader and ex-Oyo State governorship candidate, Teslim Folarin, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, in what is seen as a fresh effort to reconcile aggrieved stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 governorship election in Oyo State.

According to sources familiar with the meeting, the discussions formed part of ongoing moves by the President and the APC leadership to foster unity within the party following the emergence of Senator Sharafadeen Alli as the party’s governorship candidate. The reconciliation initiative is aimed at consolidating support among key political figures as the APC intensifies preparations to reclaim Oyo State from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

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A source close to Folarin disclosed that President Tinubu sought the support of the former governorship candidate and his political structure for the party’s 2027 campaign. The source added that the President assured Folarin that his loyalists would not be excluded from future political appointments and party activities at both the state and federal levels.

Folarin, who represented Oyo Central Senatorial District in the Senate, was the APC governorship candidate in the 2023 election but lost to Governor Seyi Makinde of the PDP. His reported ambition to seek the party’s 2027 ticket came to an end after the APC adopted Senator Alli as its candidate, leading him to stay away from the party’s primary process.

According to the source, Folarin is expected to meet with his supporters in the coming days to brief them on the outcome of his discussions with President Tinubu. Party insiders believe his endorsement and political influence will be crucial to the APC’s efforts to mount a formidable challenge in the next governorship election.

Senator Alli emerged as the APC governorship candidate after a keenly contested selection process that attracted several prominent aspirants, including former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu. He was officially presented alongside his running mate, Adesoji Adedeji, in Ibadan on July 2 following consultations among party leaders.

However, the process generated internal disagreements, with Adelabu insisting at the time that the APC National Leadership had not formally announced the outcome of the primary. Other aspirants, including former Deputy Governor Rauf Olaniyan, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, Akeem Agbaje and Oyedele Alao, also contested the party’s governorship ticket.

In addition, a group of aggrieved aspirants, known as the G5, protested Alli’s emergence and called on the APC leadership to address their grievances as part of efforts to strengthen party unity ahead of the 2027 governorship election.