Osun State Governor Adeleke reportedly searching for alternative platform to seek re-election

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke is said to be weighing the option of contesting his 2026 re-election bid on a platform outside the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as unresolved leadership disputes continue to destabilise the party at the national level.

The PDP has been engulfed in a prolonged internal battle, with rival factions loyal to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde struggling for control.

The division has crippled key administrative functions, including the nomination of candidates in states such as Ekiti and Osun.

With the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fixing November 24 to December 15, 2025, for political parties to conduct their primaries, concerns have grown that the PDP may be unable to validly nominate Adeleke within the approved timeline.

Speaking during Frank Talk, a programme on Rave FM in Osun State, the PDP National Vice-Chairman (South), Engr. Kamoru Ajisafe, acknowledged that the party is currently incapable of producing any candidate due to the leadership crisis.

Ajisafe sharply criticised the roles played by Wike and the party’s factional National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, accusing them of contributing to the paralysis within the PDP and jeopardising its electoral readiness.

According to him, “I am not happy with the way things are going in the party, Anyanwu is my personal friend. Like that of Ekiti, we said we are going to do the primary we have written to INEC to monitor the exercise but the Anyanwu group wrote to INEC that there should be no primary.

“Like that of Osun State now, they gave us time for our primary which is December 15, Anyanwu was not ready to sign. So how do we move? That is an automatic ceding of the mandate of the election. Wike and Dr Ademola Adeleke met, they discussed freely only for Wike to come to national television and say that he advised the Osun Governor. What advice did he give? Adeleke told him that he had to stop all the shenanigans and requested what he wanted.”

Responding to Adeleke’s possible defection from PDP ahead of the primary, he said, “Let me tell you that if anything happens in Osun, it has to do with looking for a platform to contest, I am telling you. Where is the platform to contest now? If you are a very good party man, will you be happy losing someone like Taraba State governor, Osun state, like you rightly said he is planning, I don’t know about planning, a political platform is to contest, I am happy about that.

“But the problem we have in Osun is quite different from what we have in Taraba, election in Taraba and some other states is 2027, our own in Osun is 2026, the primary for any political party trying to present a candidate for the 2026 gubernatorial election is December 15. What is the position of INEC, what do we do, how are we going to manage that? After December 15, INEC by the constitution will not recognise any emergence of a candidate from any political primary.

Ajisafe added that “It is absolutely known to the whole world that there is no way that the PDP would be able to nominate a candidate for the 2026 governorship election.”
Amid this development, There are rumours that Adeleke is considering the Accord Party.
 Reacting to the development, Osun State Chairman of the Accord Party, Mr Victor Akande denied the speculation that Adeleke had concluded plans to join his party ahead of the primary.

He said, “To us, it is still a rumour.  Adeleke is not talking to us at both the state and national level. If he initiated the talks I would be carried along but nothing of such yet.”
“Although, if he wants to join us, our two hands are wide open to receive him into our party. The political party’s door doesn’t have a door, hence we can’t shut it against him.”

Meanwhile, Osun State PDP through its Director of Media, Oladele Bamiji emphasised that Adeleke remains in the PDP and if he wants to leave the party, he is entitled to his right.