THE Peoples Democratic Party has said Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s exit from the party was the product of lingering internal conflicts that the leadership failed to address, describing him as “a victim of circumstance.”
Speaking to journalists today, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said Adeleke’s defection stemmed from problems the party allowed to escalate over time.
He insisted the situation could have been prevented if the leadership had acted promptly and decisively.
According to him, every political crisis has a human solution, adding that the party’s inability to intervene early enough created the conditions that ultimately pushed the governor out.
“At the level of leadership to which he belonged, the party ought to have acted decisively,” he said.
Ememobong described the PDP’s internal troubles as self-inflicted, warning that political disagreements grow worse when ignored.
He used a metaphor to explain the situation: feeding a “monster” that eventually consumes those who created it.
He noted that the party’s internal fractures became visible as far back as 2023 but were left to fester. While efforts were made to negotiate and cool tensions, he said the approach failed to resolve the deeper issues.
The spokesperson traced the major turning point to the controversial PDP convention held in Ibadan, which resulted in the expulsion of some key members, the emergence of new national officers, and growing divisions.
Adeleke’s eventual exit, he explained, stemmed from “circumstances arising from vicarious liabilities” he could not fully distance himself from.
Adeleke formally resigned from the PDP in a letter dated November 4, 2025, which he posted on his official X account on December 2.
He cited the ongoing national leadership crisis as the reason for his withdrawal from the party under which he became senator and later governor.
His spokesman, Olawale Rasheed, later confirmed that the governor had joined the Accord Party.
Adeleke revealed that he registered with the party on November 6—before his public resignation—and would seek a second term on its platform in August 2026.
Yesterday, Adeleke emerged as the Accord Party’s governorship candidate after securing 145 out of 150 delegate votes during the primary held in Osogbo. Five votes were declared invalid.