Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has dismissed the growing speculation that his meeting with President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday in Lagos was meant to finalise his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The governor, in a statement on Wednesday by his media aide, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, declared that Adeleke remained a bona fide member and leader of the PDP in Osun State.
“The media speculation about likely or imminent defection is fake news. Governor Adeleke remains a member and leader of the PDP in Osun State. The visit by the Adeleke dynasty to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a routine courtesy visit. Any reading of the defection agenda into the visit is mere fake news,” Rasheed said.
Speculations about the governor’s defection gained traction following his visit to President Tinubu at the president’s private residence in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The governor was accompanied on the visit by his older brother, Deji Adeleke and his popular Afrobeats superstar nephew, David Adeleke (Davido).
The statement clarified that the visit of the trio to the president was purely a courtesy one.
The growing speculation over alleged moves by the governor to defect to the APC is partly being fuelled by his public actions in recent times.
For instance, several billboards with portraits of the governor sitting side-by-side with that of President Tinubu have surfaced in the state capital, Osogbo and other cities in the state.
Adeleke is a first-term governor elected in 2021 on the platform of the PDP. He is seeking re-election in the state’s gubernatorial election coming up in August.
