Adeleke’s Aide Defends Tinubu Endorsement, Says Osun Owed No Apology
Governor Ademola Adeleke’s Special Adviser and Spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, has pushed back against suggestions that Osun State residents were blindsided by the governor’s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, insisting the endorsement predates Adeleke’s own victory at Saturday’s governorship poll.
Rasheed made the clarification on Arise Television on Tuesday, responding to questions on whether Osun people should feel let down that Adeleke moved to back Tinubu almost immediately after being declared winner of the governorship election. “When Mr Governor was within the PDP, the endorsement was announced. When he crossed over to Accord, the endorsement was announced. So the endorsement predates this election victory,” he said, adding that Adeleke had publicly explained his reasoning, chiefly the need to attract federal development to the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke, candidate of the Accord Party, winner of the Osun governorship election on Sunday morning, with the state Returning Officer, Professor Joshua Ogunwole, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, announcing that Adeleke polled 511,067 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress candidate, Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes. The African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salaam, came third with 17,180 votes. The election, held on 15 August across the state’s 3,763 polling units, capped a keenly contested race in which Adeleke had earlier defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the Accord Party.
Shortly after his victory was announced, Adeleke reaffirmed his backing for Tinubu, telling reporters at a press conference that he was grateful to the president for ensuring what he described as a free and fair contest. “I hereby reaffirm my earlier endorsement of him for a second term in the 2027 presidential election,” he said, describing Tinubu as “a son of Osun State.” Tinubu, in turn, congratulated Adeleke by telephone, with his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, describing the re-election as evidence that democracy continued to flourish under the current administration.
The endorsement has drawn mixed reactions. Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo publicly thanked Adeleke on social media, describing him as “a man of integrity and honour” and referencing an “agreement is agreement” understanding between the two men, a remark that prompted questions on whether a formal political pact underpinned the endorsement. Adeleke has since clarified that no such arrangement exists beyond his stated willingness to work with APC figures, including his defeated rival and former governor, Gboyega Oyetola, in support of Tinubu’s second term bid.
On the campaign trail earlier in the year, the Accord Party had distanced itself from suggestions of a Tinubu alliance. In April, the party’s spokesman, reacting to a billboard in Iwo showing Tinubu and Adeleke together, insisted there was “nothing like that” and stressed that the party’s focus remained Adeleke’s re-election. That position shifted markedly once the governor secured a second term, with Rasheed’s latest comments aimed at reconciling the apparent contradiction for Osun voters who backed Adeleke on an Accord Party ticket rather than as an APC ally.
Rasheed pointed to ongoing federal road projects as evidence of what he described as the practical dividends of the governor’s alignment with the presidency, listing work on the Ilesa-Ibadan Road, the awarded Osogbo-Ibadan Road contract and the Gbongan-Osogbo Road as examples. He maintained that Adeleke’s calculation was rooted in Osun’s development needs rather than personal political convenience, telling Arise TV that residents should view the governor’s position as being “in the best interest of Osun people.”
Not everyone has accepted that framing. Social commentators and opposition voices have questioned the timing of the endorsement, particularly given reports, still being examined by election observers, of violence during the governorship poll. Whether the endorsement strengthens or complicates Adeleke’s standing within Osun’s political landscape heading into 2027 remains a matter Osun voters and political watchers will continue to weigh as the presidential contest draws nearer.