Arapaja’s New Political Position Raises More Questions Than Answers ||▪︎ By Wale Omoboyesola 

16th of September,2026

By Wale Omoboyesola

Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja is entitled to his political choices, just as every citizen of Oyo State is entitled to make his or her own choice in 2027. However, his latest intervention on the Oyo political situation raises important questions that deserve clarification.

According to the report, Arapaja has rejected what he describes as a “third-term-by-proxy” agenda and has thrown his support behind APC candidates, including Senator Sharafadeen Alli and Hon. Remi Oseni.

But the central question remains: where exactly is the third term?

Governor Seyi Makinde is constitutionally limited to two terms. The 2027 governorship election is therefore about choosing his successor, not extending his tenure.

Let us apply the same argument at the federal level. After President Muhammadu Buhari completed his two terms, another APC candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, contested and became President of Nigeria in 2023. Would anyone reasonably describe President Tinubu’s administration as the “third term of Buhari” simply because both men contested under the same political party? The 2023 election produced Tinubu as Buhari’s successor, not Buhari serving a third term.

Therefore, if a governor supports a political direction or a particular successor after completing his constitutionally permitted tenure, that should not automatically be characterised as a third term. The proper question should be whether the proposed successor is independently contesting an election and whether the people are free to accept or reject that candidate.

There is another point that needs to be made. If anybody genuinely wishes to govern Oyo State and believes that the existing political platform does not provide the opportunity, there is nothing stopping that person from seeking another platform or even joining or forming a new political party, subject to the law.

Politics is about choices, competition and persuasion. Nobody has a permanent ownership of Oyo State’s political space.

Arapaja’s decision to support APC candidates is his constitutional right. But the same freedom should be extended to every other politician and voter. Nobody should be condemned merely because he or she chooses to support a candidate outside the preferred political camp.

If the argument is against political godfatherism, then the principle must apply across board. Oyo people should be allowed to examine the records, programmes, experience and antecedents of all aspirants and candidates.

The 2027 election should therefore not become a contest of labels such as “third term by proxy.” Candidates should tell Oyo people what they intend to do about employment, education, healthcare, infrastructure, security, agriculture, workers’ welfare and economic development.

Ultimately, Oyo State belongs to its people. Makinde, Arapaja, Alli, Oseni, APC, PDP, APM and every other political platform are participants in the democratic process—not owners of the mandate of the people.

If anyone wants to govern Oyo State, let him present himself, his records and his programme to the people. If his present platform does not give him the opportunity, he is free to seek another platform in accordance with the law.

Let the people decide—not political accusations, not political labels, and not political gatekeepers.