According to the All Progressives Congress (APC) chapter in Osun State, Governor Ademola Adeleke was turned down because he was a liability who would compromise the party’s reputation.
It follows a statement issued following a meeting by the Osun State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Leadership Caucus. The Osun APC statement was signed by Tajudeen Lawal, the party chairman, on Wednesday in Osogbo.
Signed by Governor Adeleke and twenty-seven other party chieftains, the communiqué denounced the opposition to Governor Adeleke’s planned defection to the APC.
However, Lawal claimed in the APC statement that Governor Adeleke’s desperate attempt to obtain shelter within the party was driven by her dread of losing the 2026 governorship race.
“We state first and foremost that the well-informed Osun State public, who understand that the governor’s desperate attempt to seek asylum in our party for his political survival in 2026 was driven by his fear of losing the 2026 election, is thrilled about the measured treatment given to the Osun State governor and his desperate party men,” he said.
The Osun PDP’s transformation into a leprous mansion abandoned by honorable politicians who wished to serve the people is no longer news.
“From 2023, when the party began to morally emaciate and became a war loot of the Adeleke dynasty, bright minds and people with good names to protect, who could not tolerate the deceit, shenanigans, and high-level corruption and brigandage the Adeleke government represents, daily troop out from the tattered umbrella into our party, thus leaving the PDP with carcasses and political dregs with no structure and hope to retain power in future elections.
“Therefore, the self-adulation of the PDP caucus that it remains the most popular party in Osun State is merely self-consolatory, as the claim could not be substantiated with facts.”
While maintaining that a political party is open to all interested parties, the Osun APC chairman noted that Governor Adeleke’s entry is suspected and intended to tarnish the image of the party and create a public perception crisis for it.
He also claimed that Governor Adeleke was running from the wrath of the state’s electorate after mismanaging almost N1 trillion in 30 months and was looking for cover in the APC.
He said, “Those who knew Governor Adeleke is running from the wrath of the Osun State electorate, after mismanaging close to N1 trillion in 30 months of his administration and is only looking for a cover in the APC to escape the people’s anger at the poll in 2026, are the ones who rejected his repugnant overtures and deceptive proposal to join the APC.
“A political party is a free-exit-free-entry arrangement; therefore, everyone is welcome. However, in a situation where an entry is suspected to tarnish the image of the party and create a public perception crisis for it, the party is at will to foreclose such a destructive entry, as was the case in the instance of Adeleke’s attempt to smuggle himself into our party.”
He added Adeleke’s intention for joining the APC was deceptive and was solely because of the troubled re-election bid and therefore rejected.
“Those who rejected the defection of Adeleke to the APC knew the intention was deceptive and was solely because of the troubled re-election bid of the governor, having regard that the same PDP is daily recruiting canvassers and opinion moulders to tarnish the image of President Tinubu on the radio and television in the state, while he is all over Abuja pretending to be a friend of the President,” he added.
The Osun APC chairman also accused Governor Adeleke of criticising President Bola Tinubu.
“In the name of your desperate reelection campaign, which has failed before the actual election, you cannot be disparaging, insulting, and mistreating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the national leader of our party, in public while maintaining a cordial demeanor.
“A genuine admirer of President Tinubu would not hoard public funds while others live in poverty and misery.
“A genuine admirer of Tinubu would utilize the commonwealth of the people, which has grown by more than 300 percent since the current administration took office, to outfit hospitals, offer food and agricultural subsidies, and finance important economic sectors to enhance the welfare of the populace,” he said.
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