Governor Ademola Adeleke is poised to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Accord Party, following his formal resignation from the PDP and the emergence of Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola as the party’s candidate for the August 8, 2026, Osun State governorship election.
Adeleke’s resignation, dated November 4, 2025, was addressed to the PDP Ward 2 chairman in Sagba Abogunde, Ede North Local Government Area. In the letter, the governor cited the “current crisis within the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party at the national level” as his reason for leaving.
He thanked the party for opportunities that led to his election into the Senate in 2017 and his governorship victory in 2022, but did not disclose his next political destination. State party records indicate that Adeleke last paid dues in June 2025, with no formal party activity since the PDP’s disputed national convention.
The PDP convention, held at Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan, on November 15 and 16, was conducted amid conflicting court orders. It produced Kabiru Turaki as national chairman and Taofeek Arapaja as national secretary, while also expelling key figures including Nyesom Wike and Ayodele Fayose. The crisis has led to the exit of seven PDP governors since early 2025.
In Osun, the turmoil disrupted ward and local government congresses scheduled for November 24 and November 29, following suspensions and counter-suspensions of party officials.
Despite the uncertainty, the PDP governorship primary went ahead on December 2, 2025, at the Adolak Event Centre along the Gbongan–Ibadan Road. The exercise held after a directive from the National Organising Secretary, Theophilus Shan, on December 1, overruling a postponement notice earlier issued by the state chairman, Sunday Bisi. INEC had been notified of the primary on October 28.
Chairman of the election committee, Humphery Abba, confirmed the accreditation of 957 delegates under heavy police presence, with INEC officials in attendance. Two aspirants were initially cleared: Adeleke and Adedamola. Adeleke, however, withdrew from the exercise, with 20 votes declared void in his favour.
Adedamola secured 919 votes to clinch the PDP ticket unopposed in practical terms. A former member of the House of Representatives representing Ife Federal Constituency, Adedamola, popularly known as FRYO, had purchased his nomination forms alongside the governor.
Tension briefly flared after the announcement when Osun House of Assembly Speaker Adewale Egbedun and some lawmakers arrived at the venue, but INEC monitors intervened to restore calm.
Meanwhile, attention has shifted to Adeleke’s next move. Accord Party leaders are reportedly preparing to leverage Section 84(5) of the Electoral Act, which allows parties to waive primaries for defectors under “exceptional circumstances.” Accord, which has struggled for electoral relevance in Osun, polled fewer than 5,000 votes in the 2022 governorship election.
INEC guidelines stipulate that party primaries must hold between March 1 and June 30, 2026, while candidate submissions close on December 15, 2025. Osun State Information Commissioner, Kolapo Alimi, said the governor could declare his new political platform between December 12 and 13 to meet the deadline.
With the PDP now fielding Adedamola and Adeleke expected to pitch tent with Accord, the Osun 2026 governorship race is shaping into a multi-party contest against the backdrop of the state’s debt burden, infrastructure drive and deepening political fragmentation.