The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has rejected the notice for the inauguration of the State Presidential Campaign Committee for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election ahead of 2027.
This was as the party accused Governor Ademola Adeleke’s camp of failing to consult the party’s leadership before releasing the list to the public.
Speaking just hours before the scheduled event, the party said it was not informed about the planned inauguration before the announcement was made public.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by the Osun APC chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, the party said it supported Tinubu’s re-election but insisted that the campaign council must be organised through proper consultation and official procedures.
On Wednesday, Olawale Rasheed, spokesperson for Governor Adeleke, announced plans to inaugurate a 344-member presidential campaign council in the state.
The list included prominent APC figures such as former Governor Adebisi Akande, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola, APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru and the party’s governorship candidate in the 2026 election, Bola Oyebamiji.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Foluke Etteh, was also listed alongside Senators Iyiola Omisore, Jide Omoworare and Sola Adeyeye.
Other members included former Osun Deputy Governor Titilayo Ponle, Yinka Ajayi, Akintunde Adegboye and Mumini Olabanji.
The proposed council also featured state executives of the APC, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Accord Party, as well as former and serving political officeholders and party chieftains from the three parties.
However, the composition and proposed inauguration of the council sparked concerns over the involvement of opposition figures, particularly because no formal meeting had reportedly been held to agree on the management of Tinubu’s re-election campaign in Osun since Adeleke was appointed its state coordinator.
An Osun APC source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly, said the party’s leadership had not met with Adeleke’s camp on the arrangement.
“The two camps have not met. We just saw the list like everyone in the state. There is uncertainty around it, but I can’t officially say what the APC reaction will be,” the source said.
Reacting to the development, Lawal acknowledged the importance of Tinubu’s re-election campaign and said the APC had accepted Adeleke’s appointment as the state coordinator.
He added that the party believed cooperation among political parties could strengthen Tinubu’s chances in the 2027 presidential election.
However, the APC chairman faulted the manner in which the campaign council was constituted and announced, insisting that the process required adequate planning and consultation with party leaders.
Lawal said the party learnt about the planned inauguration through the list of names published on social media by Adeleke’s spokesperson on Wednesday afternoon.
He said, “In as much as we consider the re-election of the national leader of our party, President Tinubu, as a collective task which we have been working vigorously and assiduously to achieve through various means, it is our view and conviction that such an exercise should be properly scheduled.”
The APC chairman argued that the re-election campaign of a sitting president required a higher level of official protocol than the process adopted by Adeleke’s camp.
He also complained that the short notice had prevented some party leaders and members from making the necessary arrangements to attend the inauguration.
“We are talking about the re-election of the President of the nation under the largest democratic party in Sub-Saharan Africa and not the election of a council chairman or that of a councillor, which is the reason such an exercise should be approached with the highest official protocol required to ease the accomplishment of the exercise,” he said.
Lawal further alleged that announcing the council’s membership less than 24 hours before the event, without consulting the APC leadership in the state, was an attempt to create division between the party and the president.
He said the arrangement was a ploy to turn the Osun APC against Tinubu, adding that the party would not accept such a development.
Describing the proposed arrangement as an attempt to create an avoidable dispute, Lawal said the APC would do everything possible to prevent a misunderstanding with Adeleke, who had been appointed to coordinate the campaign in the state.
He, however, maintained that the party had no objection to making political concessions to secure Tinubu’s re-election.
The APC chairman said the party’s concern was that the campaign should be organised in a manner that would promote unity and deliver the desired result.
Adeleke, who won his re-election on the Accord Party platform, was appointed to coordinate Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign in Osun.
On October 14, Adeleke publicly backed Tinubu’s re-election bid, arguing that four years would not be enough for the president’s reforms to produce the desired results.
Speaking at the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja, the governor urged Nigerians to give Tinubu more time.
“We must give our father, the President of this nation, time for his reform to work. It’s not easy. Four years is not enough,” Adeleke said.
