The Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had asked Governor Ademola Adeleke to join the All Progressives Congress, APC, before the governor eventually moved from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the Accord Party.
Alimi made the disclosure on Thursday while appearing on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, as he responded to criticism by former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, over Adeleke’s decision to leave the PDP ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
The disclosure comes amid heightened political activity in Osun, with Adeleke seeking re-election on the Accord platform against APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji and other contenders. The August 15 election is expected to be closely contested, with APC seeking to reclaim the state.
Alimi said the President’s alleged request was made before Adeleke settled for the Accord Party.
“I’m saying this on radio now, there was a request by the president that Adeleke should join APC,” Alimi said.
The commissioner, however, did not disclose when or where the alleged request was made, saying the development could be traced to earlier discussions surrounding Adeleke’s political future.
His claim is also consistent with an earlier public disclosure by Oyinlola in November 2025, when the former governor said Tinubu had wanted Adeleke to join the APC but that some APC leaders in Osun opposed the move.
Oyinlola had then said, “President Bola Tinubu wanted Governor Ademola Adeleke to come to the APC, but the APC members in Osun State opposed it.”
However, the APC has maintained that Tinubu’s support in the current governorship contest is for its candidate, Oyebamiji, and not Adeleke. In June, the Director-General of the APC Campaign Council, Wole Oke, dismissed reports that Tinubu had endorsed Adeleke for a second term.
“We have been hearing reports circulating across the state that President Bola Tinubu has endorsed Governor Adeleke for re-election. That is not true,” Oke said.
“The President’s endorsement and support are for the APC candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji,” he added.
Responding to Oyinlola’s criticism that Adeleke failed to consult key PDP stakeholders before joining Accord, Alimi argued that the issue was rooted in longstanding disagreements within the Osun PDP.
He specifically mentioned Oyinlola, former Osun PDP chairman Fatai Akinmade and Tajudeen Olayiwola Oladipo, alleging that the three had previously opposed Adeleke’s possible movement to the APC and encouraged him to consider Accord.
“They are part of the people. Ask anybody, Baba Oyinlola was the first one on radio who said, the only party that is safe for Adeleke to join is the Accord,” Alimi said.
He further claimed that Oyinlola had associated the Accord option with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and advised Adeleke against joining the APC.
“He traced the issue of Accord to Baba Obasanjo, he said Adeleke should not go and join APGA,” the commissioner said.
Alimi also alleged that Oyinlola had previously rejected the possibility of joining the APC, claiming that the former governor once said he would rather quit politics than join the party if it became his only option.
“Baba Oyinlola even said that if to join APC is the only option, he would rather quit politics,” he said.
The commissioner traced the disagreement between Adeleke and some PDP elders to the 2022 governorship primary, when parallel primaries produced Adeleke and Dotun Babayemi as rival claimants.
He said some of the party elders backed Babayemi, leading to a prolonged legal battle that eventually reached the Supreme Court.
“They did not support Adeleke in 2022, even in 2018. They supported one, Dr Babayemi, and the case was brought up to the Supreme Court,” Alimi said.
According to him, the legal victory secured by Adeleke made reconciliation between the opposing camps difficult.
“When Adeleke won all the cases, they could not reintegrate properly into the mainstream of the party,” he said.
Alimi described the disagreement as an “old wound” that had not completely healed, insisting that Adeleke’s decision to leave the PDP could not be viewed simply as a failure to consult party stakeholders.
“This is not about consultation, it’s about perhaps the whole wound has not properly healed,” he said.
The commissioner also disclosed that a delegation comprising the deputy governor, himself, the Secretary to the State Government and the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly had visited Oyinlola at his residence in Okuku in an effort to resolve the disagreement.
According to him, Oyinlola explained his grievances and indicated that he expected Adeleke to personally visit him.
Alimi said the situation became more complicated when the government later learnt that Oyinlola had adopted the APC candidate.
“About three weeks after, we just heard that Baba Oyinlola has adopted APM candidate in Osun,” he said, apparently referring to the APC candidate.
“We thought it was a joke, maybe Baba just wants us to come back the second time, only for us to just hear that those people that were kicking against Adeleke going to APC, they are now the ones who are going to adopt an APC candidate.”
The commissioner maintained that Adeleke and his associates had made efforts to reconcile with the PDP elders but that the underlying disagreements remained unresolved.
He also defended the governor’s record in office, claiming that some of Adeleke’s former critics had changed their assessment of his administration after witnessing his performance.
