The University of Ibadan Students’ Union has dissociated itself from the Students’ Legislative Summit scheduled to take place at the university’s International Conference Centre on September 22 and 23, 2026, amid concerns over what sources describe as attempts to introduce partisan political interests into the student-led initiative.
In a notice dated September 22 and signed by its President, Temidayo Adeboye, the Students’ Union said it had not authorized any representation of the Union at the program and advised students to exercise caution and refrain from participating.
The Union further stated that the University Management had not endorsed the event and would not be represented at the program.
“The Union is unable to assure students of the intentions, structure and implications of the programme,” the statement said, adding that the event should not be regarded as representing the University of Ibadan Students’ Union.
The controversy represents a sharp turn for an initiative conceived as a platform for exposing students to legislative processes and encouraging youth participation in democratic governance.
The Students’ Legislative Summit traces its recent institutional form to the University of Ibadan Students’ Representative Council. In April 2024, the SRC organized a legislative summit at the university’s International Conference Centre under the theme, “Roles of Quality Legislation in Nation Building,” with Oyo State House of Assembly Speaker Adebo Ogundoyin as the honoree. Governor Seyi Makinde, lawmakers and other political officeholders attended the program.
According to sources familiar with subsequent planning, the partnership with the Oyo State House of Assembly expanded the scope of the initiative beyond the University of Ibadan, bringing student representatives from the 17 tertiary institutions in Oyo State into the program.
This year, however, the summit has become a subject of controversy over concerns about the involvement of politicians seeking elective office ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The September 22–23 edition was publicly advertised as the “Odidiomo Students’ Legislative Summit,” in honor of House of Representatives member Adedeji Dhikrullahi Stanley Olajide, popularly known as Odidiomo. Olajide is also the Allied Peoples Movement candidate for the Oyo South Senatorial District in the 2027 election.
In July, Olajide pledged ₦50 million toward the summit after being inducted into the University of Ibadan Students’ Union. The development had already generated controversy on campus, with the Union of Campus Journalists questioning whether constitutional procedures were followed in conferring honorary membership on the lawmaker.
According to a source within the UI Students’ Union who is privy to the developments surrounding the summit, the organizers subsequently came under pressure to extend an invitation to Bimbo Adekanmbi, the APM gubernatorial candidate in Oyo State.
The source said the move was resisted by the organizers, who questioned Adekanmbi’s connection to the objectives of the legislative summit.
“The position was that Mr. Bimbo does not represent any legislative interest, nor has he contributed to the development of the student community in the past,” the source said. “So why is he suddenly interested in attending an event that has already held two editions in the past?”
The resistance, according to the source, stemmed from concerns that bringing a gubernatorial candidate into the program under such circumstances could shift the summit away from its original legislative focus and toward partisan political interests.
Adekanmbi is the APM gubernatorial candidate for the 2027 Oyo State election. The party adopted him as its consensus candidate in May at an event attended by Governor Makinde, while APM officials have publicly spoken about political cooperation involving the PDP and APM in the state.
Olajide, in whose honor the summit was organized, is himself an APM candidate and has publicly hosted Adekanmbi and his running mate during the party’s political activities in Ibadan.
Adekanmbi is expected to contest the gubernatorial election alongside candidates including Senator Sharafadeen Alli of the All Progressives Congress. Alli, who represents Oyo South in the Senate, is an alumnus of the University of Ibadan, where he studied law and later obtained a postgraduate law degree.
The controversy has consequently raised questions about the boundary between student political education and partisan electoral activity, particularly when politicians seeking office become involved in programs organized around student representation.
It also comes against a broader political backdrop in which critics of the Oyo State House of Assembly have questioned its independence from the executive, while the Assembly has rejected suggestions that it functions as a “rubber stamp.” The House has pointed to its legislative, oversight and public hearing activities as evidence of its institutional independence.
For a summit founded around legislative participation, the dispute now centers on whether its original purpose is being preserved as its political profile grows.
The UI Students’ Union has made its position clear: it has dissociated itself from the September 22–23 program, has not authorized anyone to represent it there, and has urged students to refrain from participating.
