The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, and the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in the 2026 Osun State election, Bola Oyebamiji, were among prominent APC leaders who were absent on Thursday as Governor Ademola Adeleke inaugurated a 344-member campaign council for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
Former Osun State Governor, Chief Adebisi Akande, led other APC chieftains to the inauguration, which brought together political figures from the APC, Peoples Democratic Party and Accord.
Other prominent APC leaders absent from the event included the party’s Osun State Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal; Senator Francis Fadahunsi, representing Osun East; former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye; and Oluwole Oke, representing Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
The Executive Director of Project Implementation at the Federal Housing Authority, Remi Omowaiye, and former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Adebayo Adeleke, were also absent.
APC leaders attend
Among the APC chieftains present were the party’s National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru; former National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore; former deputy governors Titi Laoye-Ponle and Lekan Adewoyin; Babajide Omoworare; and Chief Shuaib Oyedokun.
Others included the Osun Central Senatorial Leader of the APC, Adeoye Adelakun; former House of Representatives members Ajibola Famurewa and Bukola Oyewo; former Osun Assembly Speaker, Wale Afolabi; and former NABTEB Registrar, Prof. Olu Aina.
Former PDP National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, Osun PDP Chairman, Sunday Bisi, and Osun Accord Chairman, Victor Akande, also attended the event.
Akande, Basiru back Tinubu
Speaking at the inauguration, Mr Akande urged eligible voters in the South-West to support Tinubu’s bid for a second term, describing the President as a son of Yorubaland.
Mr Akande said he had learnt that Adeleke had been tasked with delivering two million votes for Tinubu in Osun State on 16 January 2027.
Mr Basiru, on his part, called on political stakeholders in Osun to set aside their differences and support Adeleke in his role as Tinubu’s campaign coordinator.
He said Tinubu’s decision to appoint Adeleke should be respected by stakeholders irrespective of their political affiliations, ambitions or differences.
“There is no ambition or ego that is greater than ensuring President Bola Tinubu is re-elected,” Mr Basiru said.
Adeleke targets more than 1.5m votes
Mr Adeleke said the primary objective of the campaign council was to mobilise more than the 1.5 million votes previously promised to Tinubu.
The governor described the alliance involving the APC, PDP and Accord structures as a “rainbow coalition” capable of delivering an overwhelming victory for the President.
He, however, clarified that the alliance was limited to the presidential election and would not affect the parties’ positions in legislative contests.
According to Mr Adeleke, members of the coalition would work together to deliver Tinubu while remaining free to support their respective candidates in the senatorial, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly elections.
He also said the federal and state governments were working to resolve the lingering local government crisis in Osun, adding that discussions had reached an advanced stage.
Osun APC raises consultation concerns
The inauguration came amid concerns within the Osun APC over the manner in which the campaign council was constituted.
The party had earlier said it was not briefed before the announcement of the 344-member council, despite agreeing to Adeleke’s appointment as the state coordinator of Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
Mr Lawal said the party learnt about the planned inauguration through a social media announcement made by Adeleke’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, less than 24 hours before the event.
He argued that the short notice prevented many party leaders from attending and alleged that the arrangement could create an avoidable misunderstanding between the APC and Adeleke.
An APC source had also said the two camps had not held a formal meeting on the management of Tinubu’s campaign in the state.
However, Adelakun, who represented the APC state chairman at the inauguration, suggested that some of the absent leaders might simply have been unaware of the event.
He said those present would brief their colleagues on the proceedings and stressed that collaboration was necessary to improve Tinubu’s electoral prospects in Osun.
Adelakun noted that the APC had not won an election in the state in the last three election cycles, making cooperation with other political structures important to the party’s efforts to secure the votes being targeted for Tinubu.
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