‘My Ideology No Longer Aligns With APC’ – Ifedolapo Esan, Esq, Announces Exit From The Party

A Nigerian legal practitioner, Ifedolapo Esan, Esq., has announced her withdrawal from all platforms of the All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring that her personal ideology and values no longer align with the party’s political direction.

Esan made the announcement on Saturday, November 7, 2026, in a strongly worded statement in which she reflected on her political journey, experiences within party politics and growing dissatisfaction with what she described as the absence of purposeful leadership, intellectual depth and genuine commitment to national development among political actors.

The legal practitioner disclosed that although she had been a registered member of the political movement since 2004, she became more actively involved in its activities between 2022 and 2023, when she participated in some of its political engagements and election-related activities.

However, she said her experiences during that period exposed her to several shortcomings within Nigeria’s political environment, particularly what she described as the excessive pursuit of personal interests by political leaders at the expense of meaningful national development.

According to her, many political leaders appear more interested in political patronage and personal benefits than in developing concrete solutions to the country’s challenges.

Esan also expressed concern over what she described as the growing involvement of unemployed youths in partisan politics, arguing that many young people spend considerable time attending political rallies and participating in party activities without having sustainable sources of livelihood.

She questioned the long-term implications of a political environment in which unemployed youths could eventually become influential decision-makers responsible for determining the country’s political leadership.

She further observed that many young Nigerians who have established careers, businesses and independent sources of income tend to approach politics as a secondary interest, leaving the political space largely dominated by individuals whose economic survival may depend on political activities.

On the issue of policy formulation and intellectual capacity, Esan narrated an experience at an economic strategy meeting organised in connection with a governorship candidate, describing her disappointment at what she perceived as the participants’ inadequate understanding of the issues being discussed.

She said the meeting exposed a worrying gap in the capacity of some political actors to develop coherent economic policies, articulate campaign manifestos and translate political ambitions into practical development programmes.

The legal practitioner also recounted her experience attending a political rally in Osun State in support of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola’s campaign.

According to her, participants were transported to Osun by air for the campaign, but the experience became unpleasant after the event, when some attendees were reportedly left stranded without adequate arrangements for their return journeys.

she disclosed that she eventually returned to Ibadan, stayed briefly with her parents and subsequently booked her flight back to Abuja, while observing some participants, particularly women, struggling and begging for financial assistance to return to their respective locations.

Recalling the experience, Esan said it was the only political rally she had attended and that the incident convinced her never to participate in such an exercise again.

She further argued that many party members end up accumulating debts through political participation rather than benefiting meaningfully from their involvement.

In her broader assessment of Nigeria’s political environment, Esan maintained that the system often struggles to accommodate individuals with independent minds, intellectual capacity and the determination to challenge conventional practices.

Using the metaphor of a cocoon, she argued that an individual’s potential requires a broader environment to blossom, insisting that personal value should not be confined to the limitations of partisan political structures.

Interestingly, Esan also recalled her mother’s longstanding reservations about her involvement in active politics, suggesting humorously that she may have anticipated the clash between her personality and the values she encountered within the political environment.

she described herself as someone who values kindness, generosity and integrity but acknowledged that her independent-minded nature and unwillingness to simply agree with prevailing opinions would make it difficult for her to thrive in a political space that demands unquestioning loyalty.

While announcing her departure from the APC, Esan was careful to clarify that her decision does not amount to an immediate alignment with another political party.

she declared that, for the time being, she would not identify with any political party, choosing instead to concentrate on her legal practice and business interests.

Her announcement adds to conversations surrounding political participation, youth engagement, leadership accountability and the place of professionalism and intellectual capacity in Nigeria’s democratic development.

FULL PRESS RELEASE BY IFEDOLAPO ESAN, ESQ.

*MY EXIT FROM ALL APC PLATFORMS*

Today, November 7, 2026, I have exited all platforms of the APC. My ideology is no longer in sync with the party at the moment.

Even though I have been a registered part of this movement since 2004, I got closer to them between 2022 and 2023 by briefly participating in some of their political activities and elections. These are some of the things I have observed:

*1. Lack of purposeful leadership:* The leaders of the party have no clear plan for the country, just like leaders of other political parties. They appear fixated on personal gains and political patronage, with little attention to genuine national development. Many of them, in my opinion, have made politics their primary source of livelihood, and the country has become their source of sustenance.

*2. Unemployment and political participation:* The majority of jobless youths are also involved in politics, across the APC and other political parties. Because, make it make sense that there would be rallies in about 37 states and you would attend at least eight of them. It points to one thing: they have no jobs!

*3. The future of political leadership:* These unemployed youths in political parties will eventually become the people who choose presidents and governors for this country.  It is from their various unserious and myopic choices that a winner will eventually emerge.

*4. The absence of serious professionals:* The serious youths who have jobs and sustainable sources of livelihood take politics as a hobby and remain at the back burner.

*5. Poor policy formulation and economic direction:* Proper growth is hardly discussed. I once walked into an economic meeting with a friend (a non-politician), which was being held on behalf of a governorship candidate. It was a think-tank meeting, so to speak, but the participants did not even have a grasp of what was being discussed. They did not know how to put their manifesto together, and I was embarrassed. There was no lawyer to help them harness the ideas either.

When we stepped out, my friend said, “Those guys on the Zoom meeting are blockheads.” I had nothing to say in response.

*6. My unforgettable political rally experience:* I attended a rally only once, and it was purely for the experience. I vowed never to attend another one!

We were transported to Osun by air for Governor Oyetola’s campaign. After the campaign, people started crying because they had been left behind!

I returned to Ibadan, stayed a few days with my parents and booked my ticket back to Abuja.

The only thing most political parties are concerned about is the optics at rallies. Once the cameras are off and the event is over, they abandon people to their fate. I saw ladies begging for money so they could return to their respective bases.

That day, I told myself that it would be the last political rally I would ever attend.

Na Oyetola wan be governor, na me go dey enter gbese!

*7. Politics and personal indebtedness:* A lot of party members end up accumulating debts rather than gaining anything meaningful from their involvement in politics.

*8. The place of intelligence and independent thinking:* A truly smart person should never delve into Nigerian politics. It is largely a space for mediocres.

You will begin to question everything you have ever known, including your intelligence, as people attempt to sell mediocrity to you in the name of smartness.

In fact, it is a space where you may have to beg for your intelligence and abilities to be recognised and deployed for the common good.

It is safe to say that smart people do not beg for their intelligence to be showcased. If you find yourself in such a cocoon, exit immediately.

A cocoon is too small for your value to blossom. Your potential needs a larger space, and that space is the world, not a confinement called a political party!

Now, I understand one of the reasons my mum was vehemently against me showing my face politically.

She didn’t want them to discover the ehanna she bred in her house, and she knew the values being portrayed were things I WOULD NEVER ABIDE BY!

I was not a “Yes Man”, and she knew that was not my space.

My mum knows I am a very good, kind and generous person, but she also knows my other character. She knew I would set the space on fire, and she didn’t want that.

Anyway, I am gone for now.

For the time being, I will not be identifying with any political party. My focus is on my Law Practice and Business.

Yours truly,

Ifedolapo Esan, Esq.

B.A. Classics (Ibadan), LL.B (Buckingham), PGD International & Commercial Law (Buckingham), B.L (Abuja).