The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has claimed that Governor Ademola Adeleke is desperately seeking asylum in the party.
It, however, stated that the party sees Adeleke as a liability that would hurt its integrity.
The Osun APC disclosed this in a statement, signed by the party chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, on Wednesday in Osogbo.
Lawal’s statement follows a communiqué released after a meeting by the Osun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Leadership Caucus.
The communiqué, which was signed by Governor Adeleke and twenty-seven other party chieftains, decried the resistance against the planned defection of Governor Adeleke to the APC.
However, Lawal stated that Adeleke wanted to defect to the APC because of the fear of the impending 2026 governorship election defeat.
He said, “We state first of all that the highly informed Osun State public, who are aware that it was the fear of the impending 2026 election defeat that motivated the governor to desperately seek in our party an asylum for his political survival in 2026, are excited about the measured treatment meted to the Osun State governor and his desperate party men.
“It is no longer news that the Osun PDP has become a leprous house deserted by decent politicians with intention to serve the people.
“From 2023, when the party began to morally emaciate and became a war loot of the Adeleke dynasty, bright minds and people with good names to protect, who could not tolerate the deceit, shenanigans, and high-level corruption and brigandage the Adeleke government represents, daily troop out from the tattered umbrella into our party, thus leaving the PDP with carcasses and political dregs with no structure and hope to retain power in future elections.
“Therefore, the self-adulation of the PDP caucus that it remains the most popular party in Osun State is merely self-consolatory, as the claim could not be substantiated with facts.”
While maintaining that a political party is open to all interested parties, the Osun APC chairman noted that Governor Adeleke’s entry is suspected and intended to tarnish the party’s image and create a public perception crisis for it.
He also claimed that Governor Adeleke was running from the wrath of the state’s electorate after mismanaging almost ₦1 trillion in 30 months and was looking for cover in the APC.
He said, “Those who knew Governor Adeleke is running from the wrath of the Osun State electorate, after mismanaging close to ₦1 trillion in 30 months of his administration and is only looking for a cover in the APC to escape the people’s anger at the poll in 2026, are the ones who rejected his repugnant overtures and deceptive proposal to join the APC.
“A political party is a free-exit-free-entry arrangement; therefore, everyone is welcome. However, in a situation where an entry is suspected to tarnish the image of the party and create a public perception crisis for it, the party is at will to foreclose such a destructive entry, as was the case in the instance of Adeleke’s attempt to smuggle himself into our party.”