• Says gov’s defection will boost APC’s chances
• Davido confirms Adeleke’s defection rumour

As the controversy over the rumoured defection of Adeleke to the APC festers, a group within the party, identified as the Osun APC Youths Liberation Movement, has chided Iyiola Omisore for describing Adeleke as a political “orphan” desperately seeking re-election.

The group contended that if the governor switches camp to APC, the development would boost the party’s electoral chances ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial poll.

Omisore, while appearing on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Wednesday, described the governor as an orphan seeking refuge in the APC to fulfil his second-term ambition. He said the governor couldn’t have defected to the APC through social media.

“All politics is local. I have never seen a governor trying to bulldoze his way into another party,” he said. Omisore, who was also a deputy governor of Osun, added that neither the party leadership nor the elders’ caucus was aware of the governor’s plans.

But the state’s Coordinator of the group, Ajasa Oluwaseun, alongside other state executives, during a media briefing at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Correspondents’ Chapel in Osogbo, yesterday, emphasised that Adeleke’s political strength and influence could not be downplayed, considering his impressive electoral history and growing popularity across the state.

He also contended that Adeleke’s defection to the APC would be a significant political gain for the progressive family in the state and a strategic move ahead of the 2027 general elections.

MEANWHILE, Nigerian Afrobeat singer, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has affirmed the speculations on the imminent defection of his uncle and Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It would be recalled that there had been mass defection and rapid collapse of the PDP structure in the state. This has brought Adeleke under the spotlight of possible defection, with the APC hinted as his possible destination.

Also, rumours of the governor’s defection plot began with his visit to President Bola Tinubu during last month’s Eid al-Adha celebration. The visit of the governor to the President in Lagos, alongside his nephew, Davido, and brother, Deji Adeleke, marked the beginning of the speculations on his alleged defection plot.

While Adeleke and the APC had over time debunked the speculations, a video snippet of Davido’s upcoming single affirmed the possible defection of the governor.

As contained in the lyrics of the video snippet, Davido could be heard singing “new broom go sweep better” and “from umbrella to broom,” which were references to the logos of the APC and the PDP.

While the singer did not make direct reference to the political parties, with Adeleke’s name also not mentioned, his reference to the APC and PDP logos was a clear indication of further proof of the Osun State governor’s impending defection to the APC.

However, some chieftains of the APC in Ọsun are uncomfortable with how the governor is going with his plan.