OPINION: Who are the Musketeers Masquerading for Adeleke in APC?

By Cornelius Boulus

The false claims that Governor Ademola Adeleke has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and that President Bola Tinubu begged him to join the party have been debunked. It has been established that President Tinubu did not promise Adeleke an automatic ticket, nor is he aware of the fake claims of the Osun governor joining APC.

A few party chieftains, without the President’s consent, have been assuring Adeleke of a ticket if he joins APC, citing his incumbency as a governor. However, key stakeholders in Osun and National APC, including Chief Bisi Akande and ex-Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, are unaware of these arrangements.

Given this development, it appears Governor Adeleke has been misled by individuals promising him unrealistic outcomes. These lobbyists have propped Adeleke to promise unrealistic deliverables for the President in 2027, including mobilizing over one million votes for APC in the presidential poll.

The feasibility of this promise is questionable, considering Oyo State, with twice Osun’s population, failed to produce one million votes for APC in 2023 despite purported support from Governor Seyi Makinde.

Three prominent individuals from the Southwest, including two incumbent governors and a former principal officer in the National Assembly, stand out among these lobbyists. Notably, they failed to deliver their states for APC in the presidential election. In fact, APC struggled to edge its opponent with barely 3,000 votes in the local government of one of them who spent about 20 years in the national assembly. The other collaborator equally did not deliver the deserving votes for APC in the presidential election. Whereas there were more registered voters in his state ( 2,288,305 voters) than Osun State (1,954,000), APC got more votes in the election in Osun. So their claims of bringing Adeleke to APC to bolster President Tinubu’s chances in 2027 are dubious, given their own track records.

Their actions seem to be driven by self-interest rather than a genuine desire to strengthen APC. If their only excuse is that Adeleke’s incumbency would confer advantage on the re-election bid of President Tinubu, what happened to their incumbencies as governor and speaker in 2023 when APC lost in their state?

Is it not foolish that these boastful chieftains, who have been severally accused of diverting election fund and undermining the chances of the party in the 2022 governorship poll when they held strategic positions, are shaving the head of Osun APC behind them? Why this level of resentment and demonization of Osun APC because the President lost there in 2023 with negligible 10,000 votes? When will these people be truthful for once to situate the peculiarity of the Osun APC in 2023? Was there any state in Nigeria where APC lost as many as 30 of its members for supporting Tinubu to become Nigeria’s President as Osun APC did? Osun APC not only lost its members, it lost key mobilizers of the party in 2023 in the hands of PDP thugs.

Let’s ask: what is the rationale behind supporting Adeleke for re-election when APC have no fewer than six popular aspirants jostling for the ticket? These aspirants are popular and many of them won massively for Tinubu in their local governments in 2023. In Osun West, Adeleke’s stronghold, APC won in 5 of the 10 LGs to wit: Ejigbo, Ayedaade, Isokan, Irewole and Iwo. APC also won massively in ex-Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s Boripe Local Government and Otunba Iyiola Omisore’s Ife.

So why are the lobbyists obsessed with an Adeleke who is running from the anger of the electorate who have resolved to punish him at the poll in 2026 for wasting their mandate and failing to give credible and sensible governance in three years?

Why are the canvassers not truthful that a successful import of Adeleke to APC would destabilize the party cohesion and unity?

Are the demagogues not concerned about the agitation of supporters of Otunba Iyiola Omisore ( former PDP governorship candidate), Pa Shuaib Oyedokun ( former PDP Deputy Chairman), Prince Dotun Babayemi ( former PDP governorship aspirant), Kayode Oduoye ( former PDP governorship aspirant), Prince Kazeem Adio ( former Secretary to the State Government during the time of ex-Governor Oyinlola), Dr Akin Ogunbiyi ( former PDP governorship aspirant), Dr Peter Babalola ( former Chief of Staff to ex-Governor Oyinlola) and others who were pushed out of PDP by the Adeleke dynasty to sustain their greedy hold on the party?

The truth is that Adeleke is coming to APC with baggage that will be difficult for existing structure to whitewash. Or how would they whitewash a governor who received almost one trillion naira revenue in 30 months and could not employ one single teacher or replace teachers and health workers he sacked on assumption of office? How would they whitewash a governor who accused the President of bringing poverty to Nigeria following the removal of oil subsidy? How would they whitewash a governor who accused the Inspector General of Police of attempting to assassinate him? How would they whitewash a governor who has been accused of funneling local government fund to bank accounts linked to his family members? How would they whitewash a governor whose family members and close associates are now regular visitors to EFCC and ICPC offices on account of fraud and mismanagement of public fund? How would they whitewash a governor who attracted zero direct investment to the state in three years? And finally, how would they tell families and relatives of over 30 APC supporters slaughtered during last electioneering?

Osun APC must rise in unison to reject the Trojan horse some progressive turncoats are struggling to foist on them. They must do away with the Greek gift from the PDP. His coming will definitely bring troubles, sorrows and strifes.

* Boulous is a former Local Government Chairman and APC Chieftain in Takum, Taraba State.