By ABOSEDE OMISADE

Two prominent voices within the All Progressives Congress (APC) recently raised a critical question that has long lingered beneath the surface: Does the party reward loyalty, sacrifice, and commitment?

Former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, noted a worrying decline in APC?s vote numbers and questioned whether the party?s policies still resonate with its traditional base. His underlying concern was simple?has the party abandoned the people who built it?

Similarly, former SUBEB Chairman, Ajibola Famurewa, lamented the deterioration of the reward system in Osun APC. He urged the party to ?return to the drawing board? if it intends to reclaim power in the August 8, 2026 gubernatorial election. His message was unmistakable: the party cannot continue sidelining loyalty and expect a different result.

If the Osun APC is sincere about correcting this structural problem, there is no better place to begin than with the choice of its next gubernatorial candidate. The ticket must go to someone whose loyalty has been tested and whose sacrifices for the party are undeniable. That is how a party sends a message?internally and externally?that it values commitment and integrity.

So, who fits this description?

Let us assess the leading aspirants through the lens of loyalty and sacrifice, the very virtues the party is allegedly failing to reward.

Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO)

A familiar figure within government circles, but not one known for making sacrifices for the party. His political career has largely been built on enjoying the dividends produced by others? hard work. The APC risks making no meaningful statement about its reward principles if it hands him the ticket, especially when he has already enjoyed multiple influential positions: two-time Commissioner for Finance and Managing Director of NIWA. The perception that the party exists to service AMBO?s aspirations is one Osun APC can no longer afford.

Senator Iyiola Omisore

Omisore?s leverage in the party is rooted in a single event?his decisive support during the 2018 governorship runoff that produced Gboyega Oyetola. That contribution has been amply rewarded: elective offices, appointments for his bloc, and later the exalted position of National Secretary of the APC. Most recently, the President has rewarded him again with strategic opportunities. Many within the party believe giving him the governorship ticket now would amount to overindulgence rather than fairness.

Omooba Dotun and Other New Entrants

Newcomers to the party must continue to learn the terrain, build bridges, and earn trust. Granting any of them the governorship ticket at this stage would not reflect the seriousness required to rebuild the APC?s fractured reward structure.

Barr. Kunle Rasheed Adegoke (KRAD), SAN

Here lies the strongest case for a reformed reward system.

KRAD?s commitment to the APC spans over two decades, marked not by personal gain but by service. As the party?s lawyer, he has handled over 100 cases, many without compensation. His leadership In managing more than 15 legal battles concerning local government administration in Osun remains one of his most remarkable contributions.

But beyond legal battles, KRAD?s loyalty has been tested repeatedly?and each time, he demonstrated uncommon maturity and selflessness:

After the acrimonious 2018 primaries which he challenged in court, he did not leave the party as many did. When elders appealed to him, he not only withdrew the case at the appellate court but fully reconciled with the beneficiary and worked with him?without seeking compensation.

When President Muhammadu Buhari allowed him to nominate a candidate for Osun REC, party leaders frustrated his nominee. Many in his shoes would have defected or revolted. KRAD did neither. He remained in the APC and recommitted himself to its progress.

These are the kinds of sacrifices that build a party?not the ones often announced at press conferences, but the ones made silently, consistently, and without expectation.

It is no wonder many believe Famurewa?s lamentation about APC?s collapsing reward system was pointing subtly in KRAD?s direction.

A Party at a Crossroads

If Osun APC truly seeks renewal, unity, and a revival of trust within its ranks, the time to act is now. The party must show that loyalty matters, that sacrifice is recognised, and that commitment is not a waste of years.

The boldest and clearest way to begin this correction is simple:

Give KRAD the ticket.

By doing so, the APC will show that it rewards character, not convenience; service, not entitlement; and loyalty, not opportunism. This is the moment to rebuild trust. This is the moment to reward sacrifice. This is the moment to choose KRAD.

?Abosede Omisade, an undergraduate of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), contributed this piece from Ile-Ife, Osun State.

Update news