RUN, ADELEKE RUN

By Olusola Ajiboye,

Media and public spaces are inundated with stories of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s purported moves to defect to the opposition All Progressive Congress in Osun State.

The rumor mill is linked to a recent private visit by the Governor, his elder brother and his nephew to President Bola Tinubu at his Bourdillion Residence in Lagos. Governor Adeleke’s speculated defection or intention to leave his party for another has been dismissed in series of government releases but social media buzz and overt conclusions by APC media Trojans on the rumoured defection have gone unabated.

The ifs and whys of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s courtesy visit to the President, especial this time around have stirred continuous disquiet of APC actors and game players may have positioned Governor Adeleke as feeling the heat and looking for a soft landing as the 2026 governorship poll knocks at the door.

In their words, “He must be at the Aso-rock Villa to negotiate his second term…” He has gone visiting President Tinubu to assure him of reciprocal support in the usual cliché of rub my back and I rub yours…” bla.bla.bla..

Politicians are Master coinage of comments like these and when taker up on their authenticity will simply justify such opinions as “Ibon-Oselu” (Political Volleys)

Governor Adeleke has run two of his four year first term tenure. He has betrayed no emotion in the quest to deliver on his mandate even as politicking assumes heating points within the opposition, particularly the All Progressive Congress (APC). The Governor is running his show unwavered by the flurry of mudslinging, verbal assaults and subterfuge crafted in social media propaganda against his person and his administration. APC Chieftains who are miffed by speculative decamping of Governor Adeleke have made disparaging remarks that even drew the Presidency to skewed insinuations on a visit seen in government circles as innocuous.

The Peoples Democratic Party have suffered gales of defections in the last one month. Many of it’s members holding top executive and legislative positions have dumped the party for the All Progressive Congress. No fewer than three Governors elected on the PDP Platform have shifted base, putting the party on edge of ominous immolation and structural collapse. The deluge of internal crisis in the PDP has spurred APC Chieftains to rhetorically question what will make Ademola Adeleke stay in a party labeled as a sinking ship.

While this raging question and others remain unanswered, the Governor holds on to his party and reaffirms his determinations to via for a second term in office next year bearing the PDP Flag. As political watchers and players engage in strategies, permutations and horse-trading for the Governorship Election in June 2026, vying and wining the poll by Governor Adeleke on his party’s platform present no option. Contesting on APC Platform presents no option as well.

Supporters of Governor Adeleke are convinced of his electoral chances on a PDP ballot paper than any other. His endorsement to fly the party’s flag next year is a direct response to this confidence. What happens if Governor Adeleke decides to shift allegiance? Can it be an option?

For the Ruling party in Osun State, defecting to the opposition All Progressive Congress is no option at all. Leaders of the party have referenced Governor Adeleke’s sterling performances as potent enough to clear his way to Oke-Fia Government House in 2026. They don’t believe the Governor can navigate his victory via the APC which they often describe as a party of predators and shenanigans, who in their own words, “will never make such happen and even if it happens can never guarantee good governance for Adeleke as an attainment.

The race to occupy Bola Ige House is thirty months away. Who get in-there will be determined by the people of Osun State. For those who put hope on Governor Ademola Adeleke, their charge to him is, “Run, Adeleke Run”

For optimists who do not contemplate a platform different from PDP, it is also the same charge. The only caveat in the second charge is ‘Run from APC’.

Olusola Ajiboye is a veteran Journalist and Media Consultant based in Osogbo, Osun State