Former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, has attributed the political disagreement between him and Governor Ademola Adeleke to the latter’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Accord Party without consulting key stakeholders.
Oyinlola made the disclosure on Tuesday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State.
He said the development was particularly disappointing because he had earlier discussed possible alternative platforms with Adeleke and his brother, Deji, amid the crisis rocking the PDP.
According to the former governor, four political platforms – All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Action Democratic Party (ADP) and Accord – were considered as alternatives to the PDP for the August 15, 2026, governorship election.
Oyinlola said he personally advocated for Accord, believing that the party would have greater appeal among voters in Osun State.
He said the stakeholders had anticipated that the crisis within the PDP at the national level could affect the party’s electoral prospects in Osun, prompting discussions on an alternative platform.
“We foresaw this problem with the commencement of the turbulent weather that hit the PDP at the national level. So, we know for sure that it will permeate downwards, and that was why we discussed what would be the alternative to PDP insofar as the contest for the governorship, which is at hand, is concerned.”
Oyinlola explained that an agreement was reached for the stakeholders to meet after Adeleke and his elder brother, Deji, returned from abroad to decide collectively on the platform to adopt.
He said he was therefore surprised when he learnt through social media that Adeleke had resigned from the PDP and joined Accord.
“Both of them were outside the country when we discussed. And we said, as soon as they come back, let’s have stakeholders meeting so that we can fine-tune how we report into which of the parties we want to use,” he said.
“Surprisingly, my governor came back from the U.S. Without any discussion, without any stakeholders meeting to fine-tune things the way we have agreed, I saw on the social media, like every other member, that my governor has resigned from the PDP and he has joined ACCORD.”
The former governor described the decision as another example of what he called Adeleke’s lack of inclusiveness in political and administrative affairs.
He noted that although some stakeholders had considered Accord a suitable platform, the decision to formally join the party should have involved wider consultation.
“Even though we were all thinking of what platform would best serve our interests, but it would only be nice to carry everybody along in that decision. So, deciding that he is going to ACCORD and not taking the whole party along is one of the non-inclusiveness of action,” Oyinlola said.
He added that some political appointees and office holders followed Adeleke into Accord, but efforts to bring all stakeholders together subsequently failed.
“Some, especially the appointees, political office holders, went with him into ACCORD. It was made to bring everybody together, but that failed.”
Oyinlola, who was joined by former Secretary to the State Government, Fatai Akinbade, and former PDP National Vice Chairman, Southwest, Tajudeen Oladipo, recently led a faction of PDP stakeholders to endorse the APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
The group, however, said it was not abandoning the PDP but was supporting Oyebamiji out of conviction and what it described as a desire for the progress of Osun State.
Explaining the decision, Oyinlola said the stakeholders believed the state needed a different direction.
“And we felt we should exercise our conscience as stakeholders who have served the state. I do believe that at this particular moment, Osun State will require a different direction. That was why we did what we did,” he said.
Accord rejects Oyinlola’s endorsement
The Osun State chapter of the Accord Party, however, dismissed the impact of Oyinlola’s endorsement of Oyebamiji, insisting that it would not stop Adeleke’s re-election bid.
In a statement signed by the party’s state chairman, Victor Akande, the party alleged that Oyinlola, Akinbade and Oladipo had worked against Adeleke during the 2022 governorship election but failed to prevent his victory.
Akande also accused Oyinlola of opposing Adeleke in both the 2018 and 2022 elections.
He argued that the three political figures later returned to Adeleke’s camp after his 2022 victory and benefited from his administration.
Akande described Oyinlola’s latest political position as having little electoral consequence and accused the former governor of returning to what he described as his “vomit”.
The exchange comes four days before the August 15 governorship election, with the rival camps intensifying their campaigns and political alignments ahead of the poll.
