Members of the All Progressives Congress in Osun and Anambra states have been unsettled by President Bola Tinubu\u2019s ties with their state governors, findings by Beadysword blog have revealed.<\/p>\n
The aggrieved members argued that Tinubu\u2019s open show of support for Governors Ademola Adeleke (Osun) and Chukwuma Soludo (Anambra) could jeopardise the chances of the party\u2019s candidates in the respective governorship elections.<\/p>\n
In Osun, some APC leaders, especially those loyal to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, were unhappy with Adeleke\u2019s recent visit to Tinubu at his Lagos residence.<\/p>\n
On June 3, Adeleke, alongside his billionaire businessman brother, Dr Deji Adeleke, and his nephew, Afrobeat star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, met Tinubu in Lagos.<\/p>\n
Earlier, on May 20, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, after delivering the maiden annual lecture at the Osun State University, Osogbo, also visited Adeleke at the Government House.<\/p>\n
The visitation to Tinubu fuelled reports of the purported move by Adeleke to join the APC amid the defection of PDP governors to the party.<\/p>\n
Both Adeleke and APC supporters also took to social media to debate the possibility of the governor joining the ruling party.<\/p>\n
Beadysword blog noted that some of Adeleke\u2019s supporters, who were known for criticising Tinubu and the APC, switched to rationalise the purported move by the governor to join the party after he visited Tinubu.<\/p>\n
In a sharp reaction to the development, some of Oyetola\u2019s loyalists criticised the visit.<\/p>\n
They expressed fear of a repeat of what happened in Oyo State, where Tinubu pitched his tent with an opposition governor, Seyi Makinde, against the governorship candidate of the party in the 2023 election, Teslim Folarin.<\/p>\n
In a press conference addressed by the APC leaders, led by the former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, the APC members declared that Adeleke was not welcome in the APC and that the party\u2019s ticket was not for sale.<\/p>\n
The APC leaders claimed that Adeleke was afraid of defeat, hence his \u201cdesperate move\u201d to dump the PDP and join the ruling party.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to tell you that if not for the fear of the unknown that is disturbing the Adeleke family and the PDP, they wouldn\u2019t have been showing the intention of coming to the APC,\u201d Owoeye said.<\/p>\n
Also speaking to one of our correspondents, the Osun APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, insisted that Adeleke was unsure of his victory in the next governorship election if he contested on the platform of the PDP.<\/p>\n
Olabisi, who said Osun APC was not bothered about the governor\u2019s meeting with Tinubu, added that all the factors that worked in favour of the incumbent in the 2022 governorship poll were no longer available.<\/p>\n
He said Adeleke was making moves to join the APC at all costs to rob the party of its victory.<\/p>\n
Olabisi said, \u201cWe spoke against Adeleke because it is on record that he told the whole world that he has nothing to do with the APC. Why is he hobnobbing with the national leader of the APC if he has nothing to do with the party?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did he visit the pioneer National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande, whom he met some months ago? There cannot be smoke without fire. We are sure of our facts, but there is information we can\u2019t disclose yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is making moves to join the APC, but the coast is not clear. He has been meeting a brick wall. If he is sure of his party\u2019s popularity, why is he after ours?\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the state PDP spokesperson, Oladele Bamiji, said APC members in the state were naive and arrogant for claiming sole ownership of the President.<\/p>\n
He added that Osun APC expected Tinubu and Adeleke to fight, forgetting that both, as leaders of the entire federation and a prominent unit of the country, respectively, would have reasons to meet and discuss governance and political issues.<\/p>\n
The PDP spokesperson further said the APC was unwilling to work but hoped to dislodge Adeleke through the support of the President.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us in Osun PDP, I don\u2019t see any big deal in the governor meeting the President. Apart from the ongoing festival, I don\u2019t understand why a governor visiting the President should be an issue, regardless of their political differences.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps, some people have promised Osun APC members that Adeleke will never see the President. Maybe some feel Adeleke\u2019s meeting with the President has ruined their chances. Maybe because they are lazy and have already ruined their chances ahead of time. They may be afraid of their own shadow.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps because they know that under normal circumstances, they cannot win any election in Osun State in a free and fair contest. All they want is for the President to use whatever power he has to rig the 2026 governorship election in their favour.\u201d<\/p>\n
A chieftain of the APC, who spoke to Beadysword blog on condition of anonymity, said it would be unfair for Tinubu to accommodate Adeleke at the expense of loyal party members in the state.<\/p>\n
He said the party leadership was uneasy about Tinubu\u2019s friendship with Adeleke, adding that they were uncertain about the President\u2019s stance on the 2026 governorship election.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President is someone to be cautious about. You can\u2019t predict his political moves. Look at how he manoeuvred in Oyo State against his party in 2023. We don\u2019t want that to happen in Osun.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want Adeleke to join the APC. He wants to steal the fruit of our hard work. We have remained steadfast and have won over many PDP members before now. We don\u2019t need Adeleke to win the election.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Osun governorship election is scheduled for August 6, 2026, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission.<\/p>\n
Why Adeleke visited Tinubu<\/p>\n
One of Adeleke\u2019s senior aides, who spoke to Beadysword blog on Friday, revealed that the governor met Tinubu as part of efforts to find a political solution to the ongoing local government crisis in the state.<\/p>\n
Governance has been paralysed in the 31 LGs due to workers\u2019 withdrawal of service amid the dispute over control of councils between the PDP and APC.<\/p>\n
The PDP and APC have been contesting control of the LGs following an Akure Appeal Court judgment, which the APC claimed reinstated the sacked chairmen and councillors elected on October 15, 2022.<\/p>\n
The state government and the PDP, however, maintained that the court did not rule in APC\u2019s favour, as the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission held a fresh election on February 21, 2025, resulting in a new set of LG officials.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath, six people, including the reinstated council chairman of Irewole Local Government Area, Remi Abbas, were killed.<\/p>\n
While the APC-reinstated chairmen took control of the LGs across the state, workers continued to stay away.<\/p>\n
The situation arose because the Federal Government withheld allocations for February, March, and April.<\/p>\n
Adeleke\u2019s aide said, \u201cThe governor met the President to discuss a way out of the local government crisis in the state and to request a soft landing in next year\u2019s local government election. Those were the topics of their discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corroborating the adviser\u2019s statement, another senior special assistant, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said, \u201cThe governor is not joining the APC. His visit to the President was not about joining the APC but was to ask the President to direct the Attorney General of the Federation to release the seized LG funds.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also declared his support for the President and requested a soft landing in the next governorship election. The governor is not afraid of the election; he just wants a level playing field and a fair contest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just as in Osun, a similar situation is unfolding in Anambra State following President Tinubu\u2019s visit to the state on May 8 to inaugurate projects executed by Soludo.<\/p>\n
Some APC members, according to findings, were unhappy with Tinubu\u2019s visit, particularly as members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance viewed the visit as an endorsement of Soludo\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n
The development sparked controversy in the state, with the APC insisting the visit was not an endorsement of Soludo\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n
The Chairman of the APC in the state, Basil Ejidike, said the party\u2019s governorship candidate, Nicholas Ukachukwu, had met Tinubu to dispel rumours of an alliance with Soludo.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur candidate met the President at the Villa, putting an end to the lies being spread. Weeks ago, they mocked us about an alliance, but now it is clear there is no alliance between APGA and President Tinubu. We are marching to the Government House,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Similarly, the state Deputy Publicity Secretary of the APC, Chief Osita Ibeh, urged caution, stating that Tinubu never endorsed Soludo.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cWe can categorically state that contrary to insinuations, President Tinubu has not entered into any alliance to support Soludo. There is no alliance between the APC and the ruling APGA in Anambra State.<\/p>\n
\u201cAPC is Tinubu and Tinubu is APC, so APGA and Soludo should not deceive the people into believing they are in alliance with us. We are the APC; it is our party, we will win, and we are not partnering with anyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe met with the President in Abuja, and he said to us: \u2018Go and get me Anambra State and connect Anambra to the centre.\u2019 That is the mandate given to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to INEC, the Anambra governorship election is scheduled for November 8, 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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