Some prominent leaders of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, on Thursday, stayed away from the inauguration of the 344-member campaign council tasked with leading President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign in the state ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Former Osun State Governor, Chief Bisi Akande, however, led other APC chieftains to the event, where Governor Ademola Adeleke inaugurated the council.
APC leaders present included the party’s National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru; a former National Secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore; two former Osun deputy governors, Titi Laoye-Ponle and Sooko Lekan Adewoyin; Senator Babajide Omoworare; and Chief Shuaib Oyedokun.
Other party leaders in attendance were the Osun Central Senatorial Leader of the APC, Adeoye Adelakun; former members of the House of Representatives, Ajibola Famurewa and Bukola Oyewo; former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Wale Afolabi; and former Registrar of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board, Prof. Olu Aina, among others.
Former PDP National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo; Osun PDP Chairman, Sunday Bisi; and Osun Accord Party Chairman, Victor Akande, also attended the event.
However, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola; the senator representing Osun East, Francis Fadahunsi; and the APC governorship candidate in the 2026 election, Bola Oyebamiji, were among the prominent political figures absent from the event.
Other notable APC leaders who were absent included the state party chairman, Tajudeen Lawal; former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye; the Executive Director of Project Implementation at the Federal Housing Authority, Abuja, Remi Omowaiye; and a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Adebayo Adeleke.
Addressing the gathering, Akande said securing victory for Tinubu should be the priority of eligible voters across the South-West.
He said, “Today, we have one of our sons in Yorubaland as President of Nigeria, and he is entitled to two terms in office. We are all praying that he gets his second term. I learnt that in Osun State, Governor Adeleke has been asked to lead the people of Osun State to achieve two million votes on January 16, 2027.
“I remember that is my birthday, and I hope you will all rejoice with me at the end of that day that the Yoruba son who is President of Nigeria will continue. May God give us success.”
Speaking at the event, Basiru said all stakeholders in the state must set aside their differences and work towards Tinubu’s re-election, following the President’s decision to appoint Adeleke as the coordinator of his campaign in Osun.
“The Governor called me yesterday evening to inform me about this inauguration. I have an engagement in Kaduna State this afternoon, but I said I must be here this morning before proceeding to Kaduna because this is my base and we must prioritise it. Everybody who matters in Osun politics is here today. As National Secretary of the APC, I am, by my position, the most senior political office holder in Southern Nigeria today.
“It is in President Tinubu’s wisdom that he chose Governor Adeleke as his campaign coordinator in Osun. For us in Osun State, irrespective of our feelings, ambitions and scheming, we must abide by the vision of President Bola Tinubu and support Governor Ademola Adeleke to be successful in this exercise. I want to plead with all of us in Osun to come together and work with our Governor, irrespective of our political party, and support him to deliver a massive victory for the President.
“There is no ambition or ego that is greater than ensuring President Bola Tinubu is re-elected. It is very imperative for us to support the President to succeed for a second term. Today, the resources now available to sub-nationals, like Osun, have made it possible for us to meet our current expenditure,” Basiru said.
Shortly before inaugurating the council, Adeleke said its primary objective was to mobilise more than the 1.5 million votes previously promised to the President.
He described the “rainbow coalition of Accord, APC and PDP structures” in the state as a strong alliance capable of delivering an overwhelming victory for Tinubu in the next election.
Adeleke charged members of the council to mobilise voters and work together to secure votes for the President.
He said, “From the pain of the past, we must unite for the prosperity of the future. From unity in diversity, we must forge a new brotherhood behind our leader, Asiwaju Tinubu. Our coalition is solely about Mr President, a man who means so much to Osun State and Nigeria. Our alliance is about the presidential election on which we have all agreed to support the re-election of President Tinubu.
“As coalition partners on the presidential election, we must remind ourselves that the partnership does not extend to the legislative elections. While we will join hands to deliver Mr President on his party platform, coalition partners are free to work for their party candidates during the senatorial, House of Reps and House of Assembly elections. What ties us together is the presidential, not the legislative elections.
“Having made the above clarifications, I want to assure you that both the federal and state governments are working to resolve the local government crisis as early as possible. Discussion has reached an advanced stage. Our dear state should expect good news very soon.”
Speaking on behalf of the Osun APC chairman, Adelakun said the absent party leaders might not have been aware of the event.
“Those of us that are here, it is because we are available. We will give them feedback on what transpired here, and I am sure they are not haters of President Tinubu. I am representing the chairman of the APC in Osun because I am the Vice Chairman.
“This is the best we can have in the present circumstances. As APC alone, we have not won an election in the last three election cycles, and if we must give President Tinubu the required number of votes in Osun, we have to collaborate. This is why we are collaborating, and the President himself has acknowledged the collaboration,” he said.
*The PUNCH* had earlier reported that the Osun State chapter of the APC said it was not briefed before the announcement of the state presidential campaign committee for Tinubu’s re-election.
The party made this known on Thursday, a few hours before the scheduled inauguration of the campaign council, in a statement signed by its chairman, Tajudeen Lawal.
On Wednesday, a statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, announced Adeleke’s plan to inaugurate the 344-member campaign council.