APC picks Adeleke to lead Tinubu’s campaign in Osun, assigns Akande, Omisore roles, excludes Oyetola

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has been named the state coordinator for the 2027 presidential campaign of President Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, despite the governor belonging to the Accord Party.

The appointment places Mr Adeleke in a campaign structure established by the APC to secure Mr Tinubu’s reelection, while former Osun State governor Adebisi Akande and his then-deputy Iyiola Omisore were listed among the campaign council’s advisers.

The list, issued by the APC’s 2027 Presidential Campaign Council, schedules the council’s inauguration for Wednesday, 14 October, at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Mr Adeleke’s inclusion follows his repeated public declarations of support for Mr Tinubu’s second-term bid, including a recent endorsement after his victory in the Osun governorship election in August.

Ahead of the Osun governorship election which was held in August, Mr Adeleke and the national leadership of Accord Party adopted Mr Tinubu as their preferred presidential candidate for the 2027 election. The party’s leadership said it wanted the president to complete major federal infrastructure projects already underway, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road and the Sokoto-Badagry Highway.

After winning reelection the 15 August election, in which Mr Adeleke defeated the APC’s candidate Bola Oyebamiji with 511,067 votes, the governor again expressed support for Mr Tinubu, saying his decision was based on the president’s regional identity and his desire to see federal projects in the South-west completed.

Meanwhile, the governor in a TV appearance following his victory dismissed claims of having any agreement with Mr Tinubu. He maintained that his motivation for supporting Mr Tinubu was to prevent the federal roads and projects in the South-west region were not neglected.

“I never reached an agreement with Mr President. My support is just based on, he’s a Yoruba man, and he’s from the South-West,” Mr Adeleke said in an interview with Channels Television.

Mr Adeleke added that he was willing to work with APC members, including his defeated governorship opponent, Mr Oyebamiji, and Mr Gboyega Oyetola, in support of Mr Tinubu.

READ ALSO: Wike, Adeleke, Soludo named coordinators as APC revises campaign council list for 2027 election

“Whenever Mr President, when it’s time for him to campaign and all that, whatever how he wants me to come in, I will do it,” he said.

Mr Adeleke’s campaign council also rejected suggestions that the governor’s support for Mr Tinubu was the result of a political agreement, saying it was based on the president’s performance and reforms.

Osun’s APC leaders exclude from the list

While the list included former Osun governor Adebisi Akande and his deputy Iyiola Omisore campaign council’s advisers, former governor and incumbent Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, regarded as the APC leader in the state were excluded from the list.

The party has yet to publicly announce what the role of Mr Oyetola would be in the campaign structure.