Olayiwola Matthew
Prof. Iyabo Obasanjo, daughter of a former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has confirmed she has joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), calling it her “natural home”.
Iyabo confirmed her membership on Saturday in an interview with sports legend Segun Odegbami on his show on 103.7FM Eagle7 Sports.
She returned to active politics after about 15 years and joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections in Ogun State.
Speaking during the interview, the former senator confirmed that she is returning to politics after “pressure” from her 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.
Recall that the former 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 subsequently returned to the United States to pursue her academic career, rising to the rank of professor.
The former commissioner said she could not return to the PDP, where she last contested for election, due to “all kinds of turmoil” in the party.
Iyabo hinted that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was another option for her, but noted that the coalition party does not have its “ducks in a row yet; they’re still working on it.”
Before choosing to join the APC, the former senator said, she made wide consultations, stressing that everyone who contacted her and helped her go back into politics are now in the APC.
“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.