“WE WERE NOT BRIEFED”: OSUN APC REJECTS ADELEKE’S CAMPAIGN INAUGURATION

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has rejected the short notice given for the inauguration of the State Presidential Campaign Committee for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu, accusing Governor Ademola Adeleke’s camp of sidelining the party and plotting to set it against the President.

The Osun APC rejects short notice campaign council statement, signed by state chairman Tajudeen Lawal, was issued on Thursday, just hours before the scheduled inauguration .

THE GRIEVANCE

The Osun APC said it was not briefed before the announcement of the committee.

Lawal said the party only became aware of the inauguration through a social media post by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, on Wednesday afternoon—less than 12 hours before the event.

“We are reiterating the fact that we did not have the knowledge of any inauguration beyond the social media listing of some names yesterday afternoon by the spokesman for Governor Adeleke, Malam Olawale Rasheed, to the chagrin of the leaders, members and supporters of our party,” Lawal said .

He argued that less than 12 hours’ notice was too short for an event involving the re-election campaign of a sitting President.

“Aside from the fact that not all social media news should be taken as genuine, less than 12 hours’ notice is so short that many people who would have been around are already shut out,” he said .

THE ALLEGATION

Lawal went further, suggesting that the arrangement was deliberate.

“It is our belief that listing the names of members of the State Presidential Campaign Committee less than 24 hours before the event proper without any prior meeting with the leadership of the party in the state was a ploy to set the state chapter of the party against the President, which can neither fly nor sit, as we consider the project as our baby which shouldn’t be handled with levity,” he said.

He also alleged that the current arrangement was designed to stoke “an avoidable misunderstanding” between the APC and Governor Adeleke, who was appointed the state coordinator of the campaign.

THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Despite the grievances, Lawal reiterated the party’s commitment to Tinubu’s re-election.

“We are reiterating the fact that we are not opposed to conceding anything for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the forthcoming presidential election, but our concern is that things should be done in a proper way to achieve desired results,” he said .

He also acknowledged that Adeleke’s appointment as coordinator could boost Tinubu’s chances through cross-party cooperation.

“We also agree that the appointment of Governor Adeleke as the state coordinator of President Tinubu re-election campaign committee would boost the chances of our presidential candidate through the joint efforts and contributions of the political parties coming together,” Lawal added.

THE CAMPAIGN COUNCIL

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The 344-member campaign council was announced by Governor Adeleke’s spokesperson on Wednesday.

Prominent names on the list include former Governor Adebisi Akande; Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola; APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru; the party’s governorship candidate in the 2026 election, Bola Oyebamiji; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Foluke Etteh; Senators Iyiola Omisore, Jide Omoworare and Sola Adeyeye; and former Osun Deputy Governor, Titilayo Ponle.

The list also includes state executives of the APC, the Peoples Democratic Party, and the Accord Party, as well as candidates for the National Assembly and State House of Assembly.

WHY IT MATTERS

The dispute exposes the fragility of the cross-party arrangement that the APC has constructed around Tinubu’s re-election campaign in Osun.Governor Adeleke, a member of the Accord Party, was appointed to coordinate the campaign.

But the APC, the party whose presidential candidate is actually running, says it was not consulted.

The implication is uncomfortable: the APC is being asked to support a campaign structure that it did not help to build and whose members it did not approve.

Lawal’s allegation that the arrangement was designed to set the party against the President is a serious one. It suggests that the relationship between the APC and Adeleke’s camp is already strained, and that the campaign in Osun may be conducted in an atmosphere of mutual suspicion rather than cooperation.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the inauguration went ahead despite the APC’s objections. The campaign continues.