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Iyabo Obasanjo Confirms APC Membership, Calls Party ‘Natural Home’

ByTitilope Adako

PublishedFebruary 7, 2026

Daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof. Iyabo Obasanjo, has confirmed her membership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the party as her “natural home.”

Iyabo made the revelation on Saturday during an interview with Nigerian football legend Segun Odegbami on 103.7FM Eagle7 Sports.

She is returning to active politics after about 15 years, joining the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections in Ogun State.

The former senator said her decision was influenced by “pressure” from supporters.

“Like I told you, a group of people who I did not bring together, I did not form them into a group, have been working, I think, for two years now. And then they started talking to me about a year ago, saying, ‘Look, we think you are the best candidate. We want you back,’” she said.

Iyabo, who served as Ogun State Commissioner for Health, lost her re-election bid in 2011 to Senator Gbenga Obadara of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). She later returned to the United States to focus on her academic career, rising to the rank of professor.

She said she could not return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where she last contested for election, due to “all kinds of turmoil” in the party. She also revealed that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was a potential option, but noted the party “does not have its ducks in a row yet.”

Before joining the APC, Iyabo said she consulted widely, adding that everyone who contacted her about returning to politics is now in the ruling party.

“So, I think APC is my natural home. I don’t have any animosity towards any individual or any group within the APC. I feel comfortable with all the actors I know within the APC. I feel more comfortable, actually, than with some of the actors I know in the PDP, and some of them are now in the ADC. So I think it’s my natural home. I feel quite confident and happy to have made that decision. I have an absolute 100% feeling it’s my natural home,” she said.

OSUN DEFENDER also reported that Iyabo, who represented Ogun Central Senatorial District between 2007 and 2011, participated in the ongoing APC e-registration exercise at Ibogun, Ward 11, Ifo Local Government Area, formally sealing her membership of the ruling party.

Titilope Adako

Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.