By The Pivot Online
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has denied entering into any electoral agreement or political deal with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the governorship election held in the state on Saturday, August 15.
Adeleke, who secured re-election on the platform of the Accord Party, said the ADC was not part of the political alliance that worked for his victory, dismissing claims that he entered into an arrangement with the opposition party to secure his re-election.
The governor’s position was conveyed in a statement issued on Tuesday by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed.
According to the statement, Adeleke attributed his victory to God and the people of Osun State, while acknowledging the political partners who campaigned for him.
“For the sake of history,” the governor maintained, the ADC was never part of the alliance that supported his campaign.
The clarification comes amid renewed political speculation following Adeleke’s decisive victory in the election and claims in some quarters that the ADC may have played a behind-the-scenes role in his electoral success.
The claim is not new. Before the election, reports circulated on social media alleging that Adeleke had agreed to collapse his political structure in support of the ADC governorship candidate, Najeem Salaam.
However, a subsequent fact-check by FactCheckAfrica found no evidence that Adeleke had collapsed his political structure behind Salaam. The fact-check noted that the ADC itself publicly rejected the alleged arrangement.
The election results also appear to provide little basis for suggesting that the ADC’s candidate delivered the victory for Adeleke.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke winner after he polled 511,067 votes, defeating his closest challenger, APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who secured 444,815 votes. ADC candidate Najeem Salaam came a distant third with 17,180 votes.
Adeleke won 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won the remaining 11. The ADC candidate did not win any local government area.
The governor, while acknowledging the political partners who supported his campaign, said the victory should ultimately be regarded as a victory for the people of Osun.
He further declared that, with the election concluded, he remained the governor of all Osun people irrespective of political affiliation, religion or ethnic background.
The development is likely to put to rest, at least for now, speculation over an alleged Adeleke-ADC electoral pact, although the political relationship between the governor and individuals associated with the ADC remains a subject of interest ahead of the 2027 political realignments.