The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Surajudeen Basiru, has paid a courtesy visit to Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke in Osogbo.
Basiru, during the visit on Sunday, congratulated Adeleke on his recent governorship election victory and commended him for maintaining his earlier endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election.
In a video of the meeting shared on X by Ayekooto, the APC national secretary outlined three reasons for visiting the governor.
Basiru first thanked Adeleke for his support following the death of his mother earlier this year. He recalled that the governor not only visited him personally to offer condolences but also attended the final burial rites.
The APC chieftain acknowledged that he would ordinarily have reciprocated the visit during his period of bereavement but said political considerations prevented him from doing so.
According to him, he had been actively involved in campaigning against Adeleke during the recent governorship election.
“You are the chief executive officer, and you still find time. And not only that you came to my personal house to extend your condolences to me, you also frontally attended. I cannot, because of politics, gloss over that act of charity,” Basiru said.
He added, “I don’t want people to misinterpret my gesture, and ordinarily I ought to have visited you during that period. But politics can be very toxic. People will say, ‘Ah, we are doing election, oh, we are in the field.’ And I was campaigning vigorously against you, sir.
“I campaigned vigorously against you at that election. Fortunately, God gives power.”
Basiru also congratulated Adeleke on his re-election, despite admitting that he had wanted the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, to defeat the governor.
“Secondly, I must also come as a democrat to congratulate you on your recent victory. And I must say that I did not want you to win,” he said.
“I wanted Oyebamiji to win that election, my candidate that I worked for in that election. But as it were, Allah (God) alone can give power to whoever He wants.”
The APC National Secretary said his recognition of Adeleke’s victory was consistent with democratic principles, describing President Tinubu as a democrat whose political philosophy had influenced him.
“And of course, as a student of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the democrat, I must also at every point in time recognise that in a democratic contest, one must win, and the struggle continues,” he said.
Basiru’s third reason for visiting Adeleke was to appreciate the governor for endorsing President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
He said he had followed reports in both the mainstream and social media suggesting that some people expected Adeleke to withdraw his earlier commitment to support Tinubu after winning the governorship election.
Basiru, however, said Adeleke had remained firm on the endorsement.
The visit brought together two politicians who had been on opposing sides of the recent Osun governorship contest, with Basiru stressing that political rivalry should not erase personal relationships and democratic principles.
