Former Deputy Governor of Osun State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Iyiola Omisore, has described Governor Ademola Adeleke as a “political orphan” who is desperately trying to join the APC in a bid to secure re-election in the 2026 governorship poll.
Omisore made the remark on Channels Television while addressing growing speculation that the Osun governor was making overtures to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC ahead of the off-cycle gubernatorial election scheduled for August 8, 2026.
According to Omisore, Adeleke’s alleged interest in joining the APC is driven by fear of electoral defeat, owing to internal crises within the PDP and the governor’s weakened political base in the state.
“I’ve not seen a situation where a sitting governor is struggling to enter another party,” Omisore said.
“One, the PDP is no longer popular in Osun; half of its members have defected.
“The Aregbesola faction has now moved to ADC. So, he (Adeleke) is now a political orphan,” he stated.
He claimed that Adeleke, despite being the sitting governor, lacks the political capital to carry the PDP through a second election victory in the state and is now “begging” to be accepted into the APC fold.
“Why do you want to force yourself on the party? Why is the governor begging to enter the party?
“He is struggling, begging and fighting to join APC,” Omisore alleged.
Although Governor Adeleke has consistently denied claims of his planned defection and reaffirmed his commitment to the PDP, analysts believe the sustained exodus of key PDP figures and unresolved leadership issues within the party have left him politically vulnerable.
Omisore noted that since Adeleke assumed office, there has not been a single high-profile defection from the APC to the PDP in Osun. Instead, he said, there has been a steady migration of PDP leaders to the APC.
“For the past three years, he has been governing that state with no single defection from APC to PDP. Meanwhile, one-seventh of PDP members have moved to APC — people like Alhaji Isa Oyedokun, Dayo Babayemi, Hon. Wole Oke and others are still coming,” he claimed.
And at the national level, the PDP has faced high profile defections which has further worsened its crisis. On Wednesday, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar defected to the coalition-led African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Before then, former Senate President, David Mark had defected alongside many other high profile members leaving the PDP weak ahead of the general elections in 2027.
But it’s the immediate elections in Anambra in November and Osun in 2026, two important off-cycle elections, that have left sitting governors in the PDP worried as to their chances.
This has forced Adeleke into a frantic search for a trusted political party to guarantee his reelection. That has not come easy with Omisore mocking the governor that president Bola Tinubu has been ignoring the former senator’s call.
He also questioned Adeleke’s strategy of seeking support from outside Osun State, particularly his reported closeness to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State.
“APC is not divided in Osun State. I’m not saying Adeleke cannot join the party. He has the constitutional right to associate with any party, but it is not by going to look for friendship in Ogun or Abuja to join the Osun APC,” Omisore said.
“You cannot be meeting Governor Dapo Abiodun to anchor you into our party.”
When asked what Adeleke would bring to the APC if admitted, Omisore argued that the PDP’s narrow victory in the 2022 election was already aided by internal APC sabotage and defectors, many of whom are now back with the party.
“In the 2022 election, APC garnered 375,000 votes, PDP had 403,000 votes. The difference was just 3.97 percent. That margin includes those that worked against the party like former governor Aregbesola and other PDP leaders who have now returned to APC.”
He maintained that while Adeleke has the legal right to seek association with any political group, the APC in Osun State would only welcome him through the proper internal processes and not via “backdoor alignments.”
