A new leadership dispute has erupted within the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State, after the party’s caretaker committee rejected a directive backing Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election on another platform.
The disagreement arose following a statement by Sunday Bisi, former chairman of the party’s State Working Committee before its dissolution by the national leadership. Bisi had instructed party members to support Adeleke’s second-term ambition in the 2026 governorship election under the Accord Party.
The PDP caretaker committee, constituted by the national leadership and led by Tunde Tijani, with Seyi Bamidele as secretary, immediately distanced itself from Bisi’s directive, describing it as “invalid and without effect.”
In a statement on Monday, Bamidele said the dissolved executive had no authority to speak for the party.
“Such a directive is null, void, and of no consequence,” he said, adding that matters relating to alliances or political coalitions fall strictly within the powers of the party’s national leadership. “No individual or dissolved organ has the power to appropriate that responsibility.”
The controversy follows an enlarged stakeholders’ meeting in Osogbo, where Bisi directed party structures across polling units, wards and local government areas to align with Adeleke’s re-election project under the Accord Party.
Bisi described the decision as a strategic step, citing road projects in Osogbo, Ilesa, Ile-Ife, Ede, Iwo, and Ila, as well as improvements in primary healthcare delivery.
“Your administration has transformed infrastructure and strengthened primary healthcare services across the state,” he said, addressing the governor during the meeting.
However, the caretaker committee reaffirmed that the PDP in Osun remains intact and committed to contesting the forthcoming election under its own platform.
Bamidele stressed that party structures from ward to state levels remain functional and loyal to the PDP. “We are fully mobilising for the August 15 gubernatorial election and are confident that our party will be duly represented on the ballot,” he said.
The episode highlights ongoing internal disagreements within the Osun PDP over leadership authority and the political direction of the party ahead of the 2026 governorship election.
