Obasanjo’s Daughter Joins APC

Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, is reported to have returned to active politics after about 15 years and registered as a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State prior to the 2027 general elections.

Multiple sources told Daily Trust that Obasanjo-Bello, a former senator who represented Ogun Central Senatorial District between 2007 and 2011, participated in the ongoing APC electronic registration exercise at Ibogun, Ward 11, in Ifo Local Government Area.

A former local government chairman in the state, Biodun Ajayi, said she completed her registration on Tuesday.

“I can confirm to you that Prof. Iyabo Obasanjo on Tuesday, at Ibogun Ward 11 of Ifo Local Government Area, completed her online registration as a member of our great party, the All Progressives Congress,” Ajayi said.

A former member of the House of Representatives also said he was aware of the development, adding that “She did her registration at Ibogun yesterday (Tuesday).”

However, the Ogun State APC has not officially confirmed the report. The party’s spokesperson, Femi Nuberu, declined to comment on Obasanjo-Bello’s reported registration.

“Our primary focus at this time is the successful and inclusive conduct of this nationwide exercise, rather than the individual status of any specific registrant,” Nuberu said.

In 2011, Obasanjo-Bello, an epidemiologist and former Ogun State Commissioner for Health, was not elected again. After that, she went back to the US to pursue a career in academia and eventually became a professor.

Speculation about her possible return to partisan politics intensified recently after campaign-style billboards bearing her image appeared in parts of Abeokuta.

The billboards read: “In Ogun State, we know ourselves. Sen. (Prof.) Iyabo Obasanjo. Omo wa ni, eniyan wa ni, ara wa ni,” which translates to “She is our daughter, she is our person, she is part of us.”

Speaking earlier in Sagamu during an interview with Remo TV at the 70th birthday celebration of Chief Mrs Gloria Shoda, a former national president of the National Council of Women Societies, Obasanjo-Bello said the billboards were put up by individuals who support her.

Obasanjo’s Daughter Joins APC. Credit: People

“There are some people who have worked with me in the past. They came together and said, ‘This is who we like,’” she said, adding that she initially asked them to stop.

“I told them to stop it, that I am living a good life. I live in the US, I teach at the university, and I am fine,” she stated.

“However, people told me to let them be. After all, they are not asking me for money. They said it was a sign of love and that I did well while in politics. They said stopping them would dampen their enthusiasm. So I have allowed them.

“Nobody can say I am actively campaigning for anything, but I have given these people the go-ahead.”

In response to reports of her APC registration, the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stated it had no objections.

PDP Ogun State Publicity Secretary Kayode Adebayo told The PUNCH, “We wish her well.”

Her father served as president from 1999 to 2007 under the PDP. He later left the party and has since publicly stated that he no longer participates in partisan politics.

Separately, earlier this week, Abubakar Atiku, son of former Vice President and 2023 PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, defected from the PDP to the APC.

The defection was announced at the National Assembly in Abuja, where he was formally received by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, alongside APC leaders from the North-East.