By Abdulahmeed Abdulrozaq Bilal | Fact Frontier.
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Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has clarified that any potential defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) would be impossible without a prior resolution of his longstanding political feud with his predecessor, former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
In a pointed response to recent overtures reportedly emanating from the presidency, Governor Adeleke stated that President Bola Tinubu missed a crucial step if his genuine intention was to bring the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor into the APC fold. According to the Governor, the appropriate action would have been for the President to summon both him and Oyetola to a roundtable dialogue.
The relationship between Adeleke and Oyetola has been fiercely adversarial, defined by legal battles and political tension following the bitterly contested Osun governorship election. Oyetola, who served as governor from 2018 to 2022, was defeated by Adeleke in the July 2022 election, a victory later upheld by the Supreme Court after months of litigation. The rivalry remains a defining fault line in Osun State politics.
Speaking through a statement that has since generated widespread discussion, Governor Adeleke implied that President Tinubu’s reported desire for him to switch parties could not be realized through mere phone calls or backchannel talks. Instead, he argued that a structured, face-to-face mediation involving the two principal combatants would be necessary to dismantle the existing animosity.
“If President Tinubu genuinely wanted me to join the APC, the first step should have been to summon me and Oyetola to a roundtable to resolve our differences,” Adeleke was quoted as saying. The governor’s stance suggests that he views the personal and political rift with Oyetola as a non-negotiable obstacle, one that cannot be bypassed even by the influence of the nation’s highest office.
Political analysts note that Adeleke’s statement serves a dual purpose. First, it sets a clear precondition that he has no intention of abandoning the PDP without substantive concessions. Second, it effectively challenges the presidency to act as a mediator, placing the onus on President Tinubu to engineer a truce in Osun APC ranks—a task many consider herculean given the factional nature of the party in the state.
As of press time, neither President Tinubu nor former Governor Oyetola had issued an official response to Adeleke’s proposal. However, the governor’s remarks have firmly shifted the narrative from speculation about his defection to a demand for presidential arbitration, leaving political observers watching closely to see if the proposed roundtable will ever materialize.
