The announcement was made public through a communiqué issued at the conclusion of a high-level stakeholders’ meeting held on Tuesday. The development effectively quells months of speculation surrounding Adeleke’s alleged plans to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Notably, the communiqué stated:
“The PDP in Osun State recognises the fact that Osun State is the ancestral home of President Bola Tinubu, which makes the President the son of Osun State. Therefore, the PDP in Osun State hereby adopts and endorses President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for re-election in the 2027 presidential election.”
Also present at the pivotal meeting were Deputy Governor Kola Adewusi; Senator Lere Oyewumi (Osun East); Osun PDP Chairman, Sunday Bisi; former PDP National Secretary, Prof Wale Oladipo; and a host of other influential figures.
While reaffirming Adeleke’s leadership, the party endorsed his sole candidacy for the 2026 Osun governorship race.
“The PDP in Osun State reaffirms its adoption and endorsement of Governor Ademola Adeleke for re-election in the 2026 governorship election on the platform of the PDP,” the communiqué added.
It further directed all party organsacross the state to disseminate and enforce the resolution.
However, the endorsement of a sitting APC president by a PDP-led government has sparked outrage among opposition voices.
The Osun State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), led by Charles Omidiji, criticised Adeleke’s dual loyalty as politically unprincipled.
Omidiji, who declared that the ADC would triumph in the next Osun governorship election, remarked:
“If he doesn’t join the APC again, it will only reduce the margin of the loss awaiting him at the poll. If he had defected, that would have been the end of both the APC and PDP in Osun.”
The communiqué further clarified why Adeleke opted to stay with the PDP rather than crossing over to the APC, citing deep-rooted opposition within the APC ranks to his defection and the internal hostility shown towards him.
“The majority of the members of the APC in Osun State are opposed to the idea of Governor Adeleke’s defection, which did not originate from the governor in the first instance,” the statement explained.
“Some APC leaders, based on entrenched interests, have demonstrated hostility and resentment towards Governor Adeleke, going as far as attacking him on social media and national television.”
Still, despite internal reservations within the PDP, the governor’s loyalists have pledged to stand by him wherever he chooses to lead, underscoring Adeleke’s firm grip on the party’s structure within the state.
