Members of the All Progressives Congress in Osun and Anambra states have been unsettled by President Bola Tinubu’s ties with their state governors, findings by Sunday PUNCH have revealed.
The aggrieved members argued that Tinubu’s open show of support for Governors Ademola Adeleke (Osun) and Chukwuma Soludo (Anambra) could jeopardise the chances of the party’s candidates in the respective governorship elections.
In Osun, some APC leaders, especially those loyal to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, were unhappy with Adeleke’s recent visit to Tinubu at his Lagos residence.
On June 3, Adeleke, alongside his billionaire businessman brother, Dr Deji Adeleke, and his nephew, Afrobeat star, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, met Tinubu in Lagos.
Earlier, on May 20, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, after delivering the maiden annual lecture at the Osun State University, Osogbo, also visited Adeleke at the Government House.
The visitation to Tinubu fuelled reports of the purported move by Adeleke to join the APC amid the defection of PDP governors to the party.
Both Adeleke and APC supporters also took to social media to debate the possibility of the governor joining the ruling party.
Sunday PUNCH noted that some of Adeleke’s supporters, who were known for criticising Tinubu and the APC, switched to rationalise the purported move by the governor to join the party after he visited Tinubu.
In a sharp reaction to the development, some of Oyetola’s loyalists criticised the visit.
They expressed fear of a repeat of what happened in Oyo State, where Tinubu pitched his tent with an opposition governor, Seyi Makinde, against the governorship candidate of the party in the 2023 election, Teslim Folarin.
In a press conference addressed by the APC leaders, led by the former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, the APC members declared that Adeleke was not welcome in the APC and that the party’s ticket was not for sale.
The APC leaders claimed that Adeleke was afraid of defeat, hence his “desperate move” to dump the PDP and join the ruling party.
“I want to tell you that if not for the fear of the unknown that is disturbing the Adeleke family and the PDP, they wouldn’t have been showing the intention of coming to the APC,” Owoeye said.
Also speaking to one of our correspondents, the Osun APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, insisted that Adeleke was unsure of his victory in the next governorship election if he contested on the platform of the PDP.
Olabisi, who said Osun APC was not bothered about the governor’s meeting with Tinubu, added that all the factors that worked in favour of the incumbent in the 2022 governorship poll were no longer available.
He said Adeleke was making moves to join the APC at all costs to rob the party of its victory.
Olabisi said, “We spoke against Adeleke because it is on record that he told the whole world that he has nothing to do with the APC. Why is he hobnobbing with the national leader of the APC if he has nothing to do with the party?
“Why did he visit the pioneer National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande, whom he met some months ago? There cannot be smoke without fire. We are sure of our facts, but there is information we can’t disclose yet.”
“He is making moves to join the APC, but the coast is not clear. He has been meeting a brick wall. If he is sure of his party’s popularity, why is he after ours?”
However, the state PDP spokesperson, Oladele Bamiji, said APC members in the state were naive and arrogant for claiming sole ownership of the President.
He added that Osun APC expected Tinubu and Adeleke to fight, forgetting that both, as leaders of the entire federation and a prominent unit of the country respectively, would have reasons to meet and discuss governance and political issues.
The PDP spokesperson further said the APC was unwilling to work but hoped to dislodge Adeleke through the support of the President.
“For us in Osun PDP, I don’t see any big deal in the governor meeting the President. Apart from the ongoing festival, I don’t understand why a governor visiting the President should be an issue, regardless of their political differences.
“Perhaps, some people have promised Osun APC members that Adeleke will never see the President. Maybe some feel Adeleke’s meeting with the President has ruined their chances. Maybe because they are lazy and have already ruined their own chances ahead of time. They may be afraid of their own shadow.
“Perhaps because they know that under normal circumstances, they cannot win any election in Osun State in a free and fair contest. All they want is for the President to use whatever power he has to rig the 2026 governorship election in their favour.”
A chieftain of the APC, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH on condition of anonymity, said it would be unfair for Tinubu to accommodate Adeleke at the expense of loyal party members in the state.
He said the party leadership was uneasy about Tinubu’s friendship with Adeleke, adding that they were uncertain about the President’s stance on the 2026 governorship election.
“The President is someone to be cautious about. You can’t predict his political moves. Look at how he manoeuvred in Oyo State against his own party in 2023. We don’t want that to happen in Osun.
“We don’t want Adeleke to join the APC. He wants to steal the fruit of our hard work. We have remained steadfast and have won over many PDP members before now. We don’t need Adeleke to win the election.”
The Osun governorship election is scheduled for August 6, 2026, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Why Adeleke visited Tinubu
One of Adeleke’s senior aides, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH on Friday, revealed that the governor met Tinubu as part of efforts to find a political solution to the ongoing local government crisis in the state.
Governance has been paralysed in the 31 LGs due to workers’ withdrawal of service amid the dispute over control of councils between the PDP and APC.
The PDP and APC have been contesting control of the LGs following an Akure Appeal Court judgment, which the APC claimed reinstated the sacked chairmen and councillors elected on October 15, 2022.
The state government and the PDP, however, maintained that the court did not rule in APC’s favour, as the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission held a fresh election on February 21, 2025, resulting in a new set of LG officials.
Tinubu not in alliance with Soludo – APC
Just as in Osun, a similar situation is unfolding in Anambra State following President Tinubu’s visit to the state on May 8 to inaugurate projects executed by Soludo.
Some APC members, according to findings, were unhappy with Tinubu’s visit, particularly as members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance viewed the visit as an endorsement of Soludo’s second term.
The development sparked controversy in the state, with the APC insisting the visit was not an endorsement of Soludo’s second term.
The Chairman of the APC in the state, Basil Ejidike, said the party’s governorship candidate, Nicholas Ukachukwu, had met Tinubu to dispel rumours of an alliance with Soludo.
“Our candidate met the President at the Villa, putting an end to the lies being spread. Weeks ago, they mocked us about an alliance, but now it is clear there is no alliance between APGA and President Tinubu. We are marching to the Government House,” he said.
Similarly, the state Deputy Publicity Secretary of the APC, Chief Osita Ibeh, urged caution, stating that Tinubu never endorsed Soludo.
He said, “We can categorically state that contrary to insinuations, President Tinubu has not entered into any alliance to support Soludo. There is no alliance between the APC and the ruling APGA in Anambra State.
“APC is Tinubu and Tinubu is APC, so APGA and Soludo should not deceive the people into believing they are in alliance with us. We are the APC; it is our party, we will win, and we are not partnering with anyone.
Just as in Osun, a similar situation is unfolding in Anambra State following President Tinubu’s visit to the state on May 8 to inaugurate projects executed by Soludo.
Some APC members, according to findings, were unhappy with Tinubu’s visit, particularly as members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance viewed the visit as an endorsement of Soludo’s second term.
The development sparked controversy in the state, with the APC insisting the visit was not an endorsement of Soludo’s second term.
The Chairman of the APC in the state, Basil Ejidike, said the party’s governorship candidate, Nicholas Ukachukwu, had met Tinubu to dispel rumours of an alliance with Soludo.
“Our candidate met the President at the Villa, putting an end to the lies being spread. Weeks ago, they mocked us about an alliance, but now it is clear there is no alliance between APGA and President Tinubu. We are marching to the Government House,” he said.
Similarly, the state Deputy Publicity Secretary of the APC, Chief Osita Ibeh, urged caution, stating that Tinubu never endorsed Soludo.
He said, “We can categorically state that contrary to insinuations, President Tinubu has not entered into any alliance to support Soludo. There is no alliance between the APC and the ruling APGA in Anambra State.
“APC is Tinubu and Tinubu is APC, so APGA and Soludo should not deceive the people into believing they are in alliance with us. We are the APC; it is our party, we will win, and we are not partnering with anyone.
