APC elders meet guber aspirants ahead of primary
A Chieftain of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State, Ibukun Fadipe, has said that President Bola Tinubu begged before the state governor, Ademola Adeleke, endorsed his 2027 re-election bid.
Fadipe, however, disclosed that the governor accepted to support the President after he stressed the need for Tinubu to refund to Osun State the amount his administration had spent on constructing federal roads in the state, build other deplorable federal roads in the state and embark on other projects that will improve the status of Osun State.
He said the governor doesn’t need any support from the Federal Government before winning the 2026 governorship election in the state because he has performed exceedingly.
The PDP chieftain, who is the chairman of the State Universal Education Board, while speaking on a radio programme monitored by The Guardian, yesterday, said Adeleke decided to support Tinubu because party members kicked against the move.
He said the pleadings and entreaties by some emissaries the President sent to the governor overwhelmed Adeleke into accepting Tinubu’s offer.
According to him, President Tinubu sent an independent team to Osun to find out which political party is popular before discovering that the PDP is the party to beat and so needed Adeleke’s backing.
Fadipe alleged further that the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, had failed to represent the state very well at the federal level, hence the need for the governor to enter into a political deal with the President.
The party stalwart noted that Adeleke’s intention was not to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, maintaining that he considered Tinubu’s endorsement in the interest of the development of Osun.
Meanwhile, ahead of the APC primary election scheduled for November 2025 in Osun State, the party’s elders’ caucus, yesterday, held a closed-door meeting with gubernatorial aspirants.
The meeting, which took place at the Ilobu residence of the caucus Chairman, Sola Akinwumi, was convened to discuss preparations and unity within the party and among the aspirants.
