A former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, has accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of failing to consult key stakeholders before defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to Accord Party ahead of the state’s governorship election.
Oyinlola disclosed this on Tuesday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State.
Oyinlola said the decision was particularly disappointing because he had earlier held discussions with Adeleke and his brother, Deji, on possible alternative platforms amid the crisis within the PDP.
He explained that the discussions with Adeleke and his brother centred on four alternative political platforms, but he personally advocated for the Accord Party, which he believed would appeal more to voters in the state.
His comment comes just days after the former governor publicly led a major faction of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains to endorse Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election. By escalating his grievances from a lack of administrative inclusivity to specific allegations of regional bias, the former governor has intensified the pressure on the ruling party, creating deep structural fractures for the incumbent’s campaign just days before the state heads to the polls.
Oyinlola, speaking at the event held in Osogbo, where Oyebamiji’s ambition to become governor received the faction’s endorsement, stated that his group decided to part ways with the incumbent administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke due to a lack of inclusion in his handling of government affairs.
Oyinlola, joined by a former Secretary to the State Government, Mr Fatai Akinbade, and former PDP National Vice Chairman, Southwest, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo, however, declared that they were not dumping the PDP.
He added that the group adopted Oyebamiji’s candidature, “having considered the decision necessary and out of conviction and sincere desire for the progress of the state.”
“I think I had discussions with the governor and his brother, Deji, on four possibilities. We had some understanding on which of the platforms would be attractive, not to the party alone, but to the people of the state. They suggested the possibilities anyway and these are APGA, NNPP, ADP and ACCORD. I put forward the argument that ACCORD will resonate with our people” he explained.
Oyinlola said the stakeholders had anticipated that the crisis within the PDP at the national level could affect the party’s chances in Osun and had consequently considered alternative platforms for the governorship election.
He said: “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 had the discussion that what would be the alternative to PDP in as far as the contest for the governorship, which is at hand, is concerned”.
Oyinlola, however, said the agreement was that stakeholders would meet after Adeleke and his brother returned from abroad to determine how they would proceed.
He said he was, therefore, surprised to discover through social media that Adeleke had resigned from the PDP and joined Accord without further consultation.
“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.
“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”.
Oyinlola said although some stakeholders had already agreed that Accord was a suitable platform, Adeleke’s decision to join the party without carrying everyone along amounted to another example of what he described as non-inclusiveness.
“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”.
He said some political appointees and office holders subsequently followed Adeleke into the Accord Party, but the effort to bring all stakeholders together failed.
“Some, especially the appointees, political office holders, went with him into ACCORD. It was made to bring everybody together, but that failed”.
Oyinlola said the failure of the consultation process contributed to his decision, alongside other PDP stakeholders, to support the APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
“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.”
ACCORD KICKS BACK
Meanwhile, the Osun State chapter of the Accord Party has said the endorsement will not stop Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election.
In a statement he personally signed and obtained in Osogbo, Osun Accord Party Chairman, Victor Akande, alleged that Oyinlola, former Secretary to the State Government, Fatai Akinbade, and former Commissioner for Special Duties, Tajudeen Oladipo, worked against Adeleke’s election in 2022 but failed to stop the governor from winning.
Describing Oyinlola’s decision as being of no political consequence, Akande insisted that the former governor actually worked against Governor Adeleke in 2018 and 2022.
Akande submitted that the trio rejoined the governor after his victory in 2022 and benefitted greatly from the administration, affirming that the former governor had only gone back to his vomit.
