A Group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State known as APC Solidarity Group has warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the party’s national leadership to be wary of alleged ongoing plans by the Adeleke family to defect to the ruling party.
The group in a statement on Tuesday described the alleged moves as “a Trojan horse” and urged the president to resist any attempt to accept Governor Ademola Adeleke and his elder brother, Dr. Deji Adeleke, into the APC fold.
According to the group, credible intelligence suggests that covert negotiations are underway between allies of the Adeleke family and certain APC stakeholders, reportedly aimed at securing a political realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“The Adeleke family has dangled a tempting offer before the presidency: deliver Osun to President Tinubu in 2027 in exchange for a safe berth in the ruling party,” the statement claimed.
“This is a veiled attempt to hijack the party machinery and implant a political dynasty that has consistently prioritized self-interest.”
The group cited Governor Adeleke’s 2017 defection from the APC to the PDP before the Osun West Senatorial by-election, which he won, as an example of what it termed a pattern of opportunism.
It also referenced past public comments by Dr. Deji Adeleke expressing dissatisfaction with the PDP over unmet promises.
The statement further accused the Adeleke-led administration of nepotism and financial impropriety, alleging that road and infrastructure contracts worth nearly ₦50 billion have been awarded to companies linked to family members, including the governor’s son and popular musician, David “Davido” Adeleke.
The group also alleged inflation in the cost of borehole projects, from ₦2 million under the previous administration to over ₦14 million.
It added that governance in Osun had “been reduced to a family affair,” with claims that the governor’s sister, Chief Mrs. Dupe Adeleke-Sanni, has assumed unofficial executive powers.
On the party’s internal structure, the APC Solidarity Group warned that accepting the Adeleke family could exacerbate existing tensions, particularly the rivalry between factions loyal to former governors Gboyega Oyetola and Rauf Aregbesola.
“The APC in Osun is already healing from deep factional wounds. The entry of the Adeleke dynasty would be like pouring fuel on fire,” the group said. “This defection bid, if successful, could provide Aregbesola’s camp a strategic opening to reassert control.”
Referencing previous elections, the group noted that the APC remained electorally competitive in Osun even without the support of the Adeleke family.
“In 2023, APC secured two of three senatorial seats in Osun despite Governor Adeleke’s incumbency. We do not need defectors who bring more chaos than competence,” it stated.
The group called on President Tinubu to protect the party from “internal sabotage disguised as political expansion,” and said any move to accept the Adeleke family would be “vehemently resisted.”
“We will mobilize our teeming supporters, present a credible candidate, and reclaim Osun through principled, grassroots politics,” the statement said.
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