The Oyo State leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has clarified the controversy surrounding the leadership and membership of the party’s Membership Revalidation and Membership Registration (MRMR) Committee, affirming that Mr Ayo Akinyemi remained the duly recognised chairman of the committee in the state.
The clarification was made by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Barrister Bimpe Adelowo on behalf of the party,during a press conference held on Tuesday at the ADC Secretariat in Mokola, Ibadan.
Adelowo explained that Mr Ayo Akinyemi serves as chairman of the committee while Professor Folake Tafita is the secretary, stressing that both officials are the officially recognised representatives of the MRMR Committee in Oyo State.
The ADC Publicity Secretary dismissed reports suggesting that Bisi Ilaka, a former Chief of Staff to Governor Seyi Makinde, had been appointed as chairman of the committee.
Ilaka had earlier on Monday announced the names of ten additional members of what he described as his committee during a press briefing at the Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Iyaganku, Ibadan.
Addressing the development, Adelowo stated that the only committee recognised by the party’s national leadership is the Ayo Akinyemi-led committee inaugurated on February 12, 2026 in Abuja.
He maintained that the committee was properly constituted with representatives drawn from the three senatorial districts in Oyo State and charged with the responsibility of conducting the membership revalidation and registration exercise.
“There is no other committee saddled with this function in Oyo State. We only know of one committee, and that is the committee whose names were submitted to Abuja,” Adelowo said.
He further explained that the committee was structured to ensure balanced representation across the state’s three senatorial districts, with three members drawn from each district alongside the chairman and secretary who serve as the principal officers.
According to him, the composition of the committee reflects the party’s commitment to inclusiveness, as members were drawn from different political tendencies including the Labour Party, the All Progressives Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party and the ADC, as well as individuals who are not indigenes of the state.
“It’s a party that cuts across all sectors. We are not religiously biased and neither are we ethnically biased,” he said.
Adelowo called on individuals engaged in parallel activities relating to the membership exercise to desist and instead support the officially constituted structure of the party.
“Anyone that is doing something else should just conserve their energy and come back to the fold so that we can push this party forward.“
“It does not pay anyone to sit behind the fence or on the fence and continue to throw tantrum inside in order to distort the progress we are making,“ he said.
He added that the party had already established structures across the 33 local government areas of the state and had recorded notable progress in strengthening its grassroots presence.
“We have made a lot of progress across the 33 local governments. We have our structures there, and the funny thing is that they are still beckoning on our structures, the local government chairmen of the party, to come and submit the names of our members to them,” he said.
“Only constituted authorities have the power to request for the names of members and not somebody that has not been given any responsibility.”
Adelowo also used the occasion to invite prospective members to join the party as preparations begin ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“So we use this opportunity to encourage all the prospective members to come inside and join the forces here in order to uplift our party and to deliver Oyo State for ADC in 2027,” he said.
Adelowo further noted that the party had taken proactive steps to prepare members for the revalidation and registration exercise even before the formal inauguration of the MRMR Committee.
“You can see that we are a business-minded party. Even before the inauguration of the MRMR Committee in Oyo State, we had a committee in place which had been working to educate our members on how to revalidate and register,” he said.
He explained that the MRMR Committee inaugurated in Abuja had been given a one-month mandate to carry out the exercise across the state.
“This MRMR Committee inaugurated on February 12, 2026 in Abuja has just one month to conduct the exercise. By God’s grace, the mandate of the committee will soon elapse and I know by that time many of our members must have been registered,” he added.
Adelowo also commended the cooperation of the party chairmen across the 33 local government areas of the state, describing the turnout of members for the ongoing exercise as encouraging.
The MRMR Committee is chaired by Comrade Ayo Akinyemi, with Professor Folake Tafita serving as secretary. Other members include Prince Fatai Adewale Ladigbolu, Hon. Olusola Alade and Asiwaju Kunle Adeogun Mutairu representing Oyo South, while Alhaji Biliaminu Onifade, Alhaji Kabir Adesiyan and Mrs Juliana Igwe represent Oyo Central.
Members representing Oyo North are Hon. Kolawole Ogunleye, Ilufemiloye Daniel Oladele and Dr Adebowale Oke.
Providing further insight into the progress of the exercise, the Chairman of the MRMR Committee, Mr Ayo Akinyemi, said the membership revalidation and registration exercise had been progressing steadily across the state since the committee was inaugurated.
“The National MRMR Committee inaugurated our committee on the 12th of February, 2026 in Abuja, with a clear mandate to coordinate and supervise the membership revalidation and fresh registration exercise in Oyo State,” he said.
Akinyemi explained that the committee moved swiftly to establish structures at the grassroots level by inaugurating MRMR committees in all the 33 local government areas on February 16.
“In furtherance of this mandate, on February 21, 2026, the State MRMR Committee organised a comprehensive training session for representatives from all the 33 local government areas,” he said.
“During the training, participants were taken through the procedures, guidelines and operational processes for the membership revalidation and registration exercise to ensure uniformity, transparency and efficiency across the state.”
He explained that before the official online registration portal became operational, local government committees were directed to begin manual registration in collaboration with party officers to ensure that interested members were not delayed.
Following the activation of the online portal on March 1, the committee also directed local MRMR committees to establish flexible registration stations to assist members encountering difficulties with the online process.
“These stations were designed to assist members who may encounter challenges with the online process, particularly those without Android-enabled smartphones or adequate internet access,” he said.
Akinyemi said participation in the exercise had improved significantly after a moderate turnout in the early days.
“From the situation reports we continue to receive from across the 33 local government areas, the initial turnout during the early days of the exercise was moderate. However, we are pleased to report that participation has significantly increased in recent days,” he said.
He, however, identified some challenges affecting participation, including the lack of National Identification Numbers among some prospective members and limited smartphone access in rural communities.
“For instance, a number of individuals willing to register currently do not possess National Identification Numbers, which is a requirement for the online registration process.“
“Additionally, many rural dwellers do not own Android-enabled phones, which has created some barriers to online participation,“ he said.
He added that the committee had deployed trained volunteers and party officials to assist residents in rural communities while intensifying public awareness campaigns through flyers, radio publicity, social media engagement, and the circulation of audio and video campaign materials.
“These coordinated efforts are already yielding positive results as awareness continues to grow and more citizens are registering to become members of the African Democratic Congress,” Akinyemi said.
