Party faults Oke’s alleged deregistration call
Spokesperson to Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, Olawale Rasheed, has challenged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to test its claimed electoral strength at the polls rather than pursue plots to undermine the Accord Party (AP) ahead of the 2026 governorship election.
Reacting to a call by the lawmaker representing Obokun/Oriade federal constituency, Wole Oke, for the deregistration of the AP, Rasheed accused the lawmaker of engaging in unlawful advocacy to please the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, who governed the state.
He said the growing popularity of AP as a platform for Adeleke unsettled the APC, prompting calls for the party’s deregistration instead of an open political contest.
The governor’s aide dismissed such moves as undemocratic, insisting that a party confident of victory should be willing to face voters directly.
“As the APC is desperately working to financially strangle Osun by withholding local council allocations to punish voters, it is equally plotting to destroy the ruling party.”
That is not democracy; that is a recipe for democratic chaos.
“The APC’s strategy is built on undemocratic plots rather than contending with the electorate, who have serious questions for Bola Oyebamiji and the APC hierarchy. If the APC is sure of its electoral potency, it should drop the plot to destroy Accord and let the fight be taken to the voters,” he stated.
According to Rasheed, Adeleke’s performance since 2022 — spanning improvements in primary healthcare, education, infrastructure, agriculture, pension and salary debt repayment, and ease of doing business — demonstrates effective governance.
He challenged the APC governorship candidate, Oyebamiji, to present his party’s record from 2018 to 2022, stressing that the comparison clearly favours the incumbent.
“Governor Adeleke has surpassed 12 years of APC rule in just three years. We also challenge Oyebamiji to a policy debate and to answer questions about his tenure at the Osun Investment Agency and as Commissioner for Finance.”
Similarly, the Osun chapter of AP, in a statement yesterday by its Chairman, Victor Akande, described the move by Oke as a calculated attempt to mislead the electoral body and compel it to take an unlawful action against Accord.
The statement reads: “The alleged call for deregistration was aimed at preventing Governor Adeleke from contesting the Osun governorship election scheduled for August 8, 2026, on the platform of Accord.”
Accord maintained that it remained a fully registered political party that complied with all constitutional and statutory requirements under the Electoral Act.
“Accord has consistently participated in elections across Nigeria and has met, and even exceeded, the conditions required of registered political parties,” the statement said.
The party, while dismissing claims that it was liable to deregistration, described them as unfounded, misleading and urged members and supporters in Osun to remain calm and focused.
