Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has formally resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ending months of speculation about his political future ahead of next year’s governorship election.
Adeleke’s exit was disclosed late Monday in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, who confirmed that the governor quietly withdrew his membership of the PDP on 4 November 2025. According to the statement, the resignation letter was addressed to the chairman of Ward 2, Sagba Abogunde, in Ede North Local Government Area.
In the letter, Adeleke attributed his decision to what he described as the “current crisis within the national leadership” of the PDP, noting that the persistent instability made his continued membership untenable. He also expressed gratitude to the party for the platform that enabled his election as senator representing Osun West and later as governor.
The statement, however, offered no clarity on the governor’s next political destination. While earlier reports suggested he had explored joining the All Progressives Congress (APC) with alleged backing from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the purported move was said to have been blocked by influential APC stakeholders in Osun.
Adeleke’s departure comes at a critical moment, with the Osun governorship election scheduled for August 2026. Although he secured victory under the PDP banner in 2022, he is now expected to pursue his second-term bid on the platform of another party. Speculation has also trailed a possible move to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a claim Adeleke recently dismissed, though his latest resignation is likely to rekindle those conversations.
His defection adds to the wave of high-profile exits that has rattled the PDP in recent months. Governors of Delta, Akwa Ibom and Enugu states have all abandoned the party, signalling a widening collapse of cohesion within the main opposition bloc ahead of the next general election.
With Adeleke out of the PDP and yet to declare his new political home, Osun’s political landscape is set for a dramatic realignment as the 2026 campaign season gathers momentum.
