A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Jamiu Olawumi, has alleged that Governor Ademola Adeleke made unsuccessful efforts to cross over to the ruling party from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he currently belongs to.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, Olawumi claimed that the APC leadership turned down the governor’s approach based on internal consultations and widespread concerns.
“The reasons for our rebuffing them are the results of our findings — civil servants who were being made second-class citizens against their counterparts from Ede were all pleading that we should not allow Governor Adeleke to come to the APC,” he said.
Olawumi pointed to a PDP communiqué issued in Osun State 72 hours earlier as evidence of Adeleke’s alleged lobbying, describing it as a confirmation of the governor’s intent to switch parties.
He further argued that even if Adeleke had been admitted into the APC, he would not have assumed any leadership position in the state’s party structure. “If he comes to the APC, he cannot be a leader to Chief Adebisi Akande, of course,” Olawumi said. “So, nobody is talking about when he comes to the APC, he will not be our leader. Leader of whom? In the PDP, a governor might be the party leader; in the APC, it might not be the same.”
Response to Adeleke’s aide on defection of senators
Reacting to claims by Governor Adeleke’s media aide, Hezekiah Bamiji, that the recent defection of Senators Francis Fadahunsi and Olubiyi Fadeyi to the APC was a misstep, Olawumi said the lawmakers were simply distancing themselves from what he described as poor leadership.
“The people who defected entered into a trap? No. They abandoned the PDP. Responsible leadership should thrive on integrity,” he stated. “This is a governor of almost three years in Osun State, who has lost a high degree of integrity in public governance, and those senators and House of Reps members will not wait to be part of the mess.”
Meanwhile, amid widespread speculation over his political future, Governor Adeleke reaffirmed his commitment to the PDP in a statement shared via his official X handle on Tuesday. He disclosed that he had been unanimously endorsed by the party’s leadership for a second term in 2026.
“I remain in the PDP, the party that gave me the platform to serve the good people of Osun. I have been unanimously endorsed by the Osun PDP for a second term in 2026,” Adeleke said.
In the same statement, the governor also expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, describing him as a “proud son of our state.”
“Our party in Osun has also endorsed President Tinubu for re-election in 2027,” he added. “PDP remains the most popular and trusted party across Osun State.”
The remarks followed a private visit to President Tinubu’s residence in Ikoyi, Lagos, on June 3, 2025, by Governor Adeleke, his brother Adedeji Adeleke, and their nephew, music star Davido.
On Wednesday, the Senate officially recorded the defection of Fadahunsi and Fadeyi from the PDP to the APC—an event the governor’s media aide described as a political miscalculation.