A former member of the National Assembly, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, has confirmed her membership in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State.
She made the disclosure on Saturday during an interview with a Nigerian football legend, Segun Odegbami, on 103.7FM Eagle7 Sports, which was monitored in Abeokuta the daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo described the party as her natural home.
Speaking during the interview, the former senator said her decision to return to politics was influenced by sustained pressure from her supporters.
“As I told you, a group of people whom 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 Obasanjo explained that returning to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), under which she last contested, was not an option due to the current internal crises being experienced by the umbrella party.
The former commissioner also revealed that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was considered, but she expressed reservations about the party’s preparedness.
She added that those who encouraged her return to politics are all members of the APC, a factor that influenced her decision to join the broom party.
According to her, she conducted extensive consultations before formally joining 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 per cent feeling it’s my natural home,” she said.
Although the APC has yet to issue an official statement, the development marks her return to active politics after about 15 years.
She joined the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections in Ogun State, with speculations in some quarters that she may join the governorship race in the build-up to the election.
There were reports that she had participated in the ongoing APC e-registration exercise at Ibogun, Ward 11, in the Ifo Local Government Area of the state, formally sealing her membership of the ruling party.
She represented the Ogun Central Senatorial District between 2007 and 2011, after she served as the state commissioner for health in the administration of former governor Gbenga Daniel.
She lost her re-election bid in 2011 to Senator Gbenga Obadara of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
Following her defeat in 2011, she returned to the United States to pursue her academic career, eventually rising to the rank of professor.
