Ganduje, threat to democracy, seeks to destabilise Southwest — Adeleke

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has accused the National President of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, of attempting to destabilize the South-West region.

Adeleke also called on President Bola Tinubu to caution the former Kano State governor.

In a statement issued on Monday and signed by his media aide, Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke responded to Ganduje’s pledge to seize Osun State in 2026 following the APC’s victory in last Saturday’s Ondo State governorship election.

Adeleke described Ganduje as a threat to democracy, accusing him of discontent with the peace and unity in the Southwest that supports President Tinubu.

The governor alleged that Ganduje was trying to stoke political tensions to weaken the president’s position ahead of the 2027 elections.

Adeleke further criticised Ganduje’s remarks, calling them anti-democratic and at odds with Tinubu’s values.

He pointed out that electoral outcomes are shaped by local factors, and the political realities of Osun were different from those in Edo and Ondo states.

He also referenced Ganduje’s inability to maintain control in his home state of Kano, where the Kwankwasiyya group outperformed Ganduje’s faction despite his eight years in office.

READ ALSO:After Ondo, Oyo, Osun next target for APC, says Ganduje

Adeleke questioned why Ganduje believed the people of Osun, who had supported him in the past, would disregard their electoral will in 2026.

He noted, “If Ganduje failed in his own state due to internal resistance, why does he think the people of Osun, who endorsed Governor Adeleke, will allow their will to be disregarded in 2026

“Osun is the heart of the Yoruba people, where political freedom is deeply valued, and resistance to electoral fraud is a tradition.”

Adeleke also accused Ganduje of undermining President Tinubu’s leadership and challenged Ganduje to study the political dynamics of Osun, asserting that strategies used in other states would not succeed in Osun.

He said, “If Ganduje truly supports the president, why is he trying to destabilise the president’s home zone with open threats to violate electoral law and deny citizens their rights to vote?”

Adeleke also noted that many opposition members had recently joined the ruling party, strengthening the PDP’s position in Osun, and stressed that Ganduje did not have a mandate from President Tinubu to instigate conflict in the Southwest.