Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with immediate effect, less than 24 hours to the party’s scheduled governorship primary election.
In a resignation letter dated November 4, 2025, addressed to the PDP Chairman of Sagba Ward 2 in Ede and made public on Monday evening, Adeleke cited the ongoing national leadership crisis within the party as the sole reason for his exit.
“Due to the current crisis of the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), I hereby resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party with immediate effect,” the letter read.
The governor expressed appreciation to the party for providing him the platform to serve as Senator representing Osun West and later as governor.
The sudden development threw the PDP primary, earlier scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, 2025, at the Atlantic Multipurpose Hall, Osogbo, into confusion. The state Chairman of the party, Mr. Sunday Bisi, had earlier announced on Monday that the exercise would no longer hold as planned, citing deepening factional disputes and confirming that Adeleke was no longer interested in contesting the party’s ticket.
However, a counter-directive from the PDP national secretariat later insisted that the primary must proceed as scheduled on Tuesday.
Adeleke, who was elected governor in July 2022 on the PDP platform after a keenly contested and controversial 2018 governorship race, has in recent months faced mounting pressure from rival factions within the Osun chapter of the party. The divisions are part of the broader national leadership tussle between Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum and the camp loyal to the suspended former chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.
As of press time on Monday, the governor had not announced any new political platform, leaving uncertainty over his re-election bid ahead of the 2026 governorship election in the state.
The resignation marks the latest high-profile defection rocking the PDP as the party grapples with internal crises in the build-up to the 2027 general election.