A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Jamiu Olawumi, has alleged that Governor Ademola Adeleke made attempts to defect to the APC from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but was rebuffed by the party leadership.
Olawumi made the claim during a televised interview, on Thursday.
According to him, Governor Adeleke’s defection bid was blocked following consultations with stakeholders, including civil servants, who opposed the move over claims of marginalization by the governor’s administration.
“The reasons for our rebuffing them are the results of our findings,” Olawumi said. “Civil servants who were being made second-class citizens against their counterparts from Ede were all pleading that we should not allow Governor Adeleke to come to the APC.”
Olawumi further stated that a communiqué released by the Osun State chapter of the PDP three days ago confirmed the governor’s alleged lobbying to join the APC.
He also insisted that should Adeleke have crossed over, he would not have assumed leadership of the APC in the state, noting that the party’s leader remains former governor Bisi Akande.
Responding to claims made by Adeleke’s media aide, Hezekiah Bamiji, that two Osun senators who recently defected to the APC, Francis Fadahunsi and Olubiyi Fadeyi, were tricked into leaving the PDP, Olawumi dismissed the narrative.
He said the lawmakers “jumped ship” willingly to dissociate themselves from what he described as the “mess” within the PDP in the state.
The development adds another layer to the growing political tensions in Osun as party alignments continue to shift ahead of the 2027 general elections.
