The year 2027 is a most momentous and foreboding one for people and the country. Nigerians‘ indifference, and some would say, opposition to Mr President’s re-election. The north’s strident claim of marginalisation. Intra and inter-party squabble. The unscrupulous and shady gale of defections. The devil-may-care aura of desperados in the political space and the citizenry’s misgivings about the Independent National Electoral Commission’s capacity to conduct credible elections all add up to raise fears and anxieties
Before the 2027 general election, which is still some fourteen months away, the hysteria and dramatic build-up are better exemplified by the off-cycle gubernatorial election. One of the states that has captured the frenzied political atmosphere seamlessly is Osun. In Osun a.k.a “the state of the living spring”, the plum office is that of the governor. The gubernatorial election for the state is slated for August 2026, but key political actors have begun their manoeuvring and scheming to get ahead of their opponents. The race for the government house in Osogbo is a two-legged affair: the deeply fractured Peoples Democratic Party currently ruling the state and a battle-ready All Progressives Congress that is willing to go to any extent to reclaim the state it lost in 2022. The feelers we are also getting are that it may become a three-horse race should the incumbent governor decide to ditch the two leading parties for a lesser-known one to seek a second term in office.
Both parties boast of some of the state’s illustrious sons and eclectic gladiators. However, while the politicking for the gubernatorial election was in full swing, the PDP suffered heavy political damage in the state last week. The incumbent governor of the state, Ademola Adeleke, announced his resignation from the party on whose platform he was first elected a senator and subsequently a governor on his second try in 2022 after losing by a slim margin in 2018. His spokesperson, who confirmed the development, disclosed that the governor had resigned his membership of the party since November but had no reason for why such significant information was kept away from the public for nearly a month.
His resignation from the PDP further compounds the woes of the beleaguered party, which has been beset by a perennial crisis that has led to its division and mass defection of its key members to the APC. He has not announced his next move but speculation of him joining the APC or Accord party is rife. However, his departure from the PDP has left the party in a limbo while also adding a fresh twist to the gubernatorial race and changing the dynamics of the political landscape in the state.
The PDP on Tuesday had its gubernatorial primary, and Adebayo Adedamola polled 919 votes out of 957 cast. In a bizarre twist, despite announcing his resignation from the party, the name of Osun State Governor Adeleke appeared on the ballot paper for the PDP governorship primary.
The APC is not without its own challenges. The party on Friday disqualified several top politicians, including former deputy governor and ex National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, as well as another former deputy governor, Benedict Olugboyega Alabi, from taking part in its December 13, 2025, Osun governorship primary. Also disqualified were Dotun Babayemi, Akin Ogunbiyi, Senator Babajide Omoworare, Kunle Adegoke (SAN), and Babatunde Haketer Oralusi.
Their disqualification was contained in a report submitted by the seven-member screening committee led by Barrister Obinna Uzor, only Hon. Mulikat Adeola Jimoh and Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji met all necessary requirements and are cleared to participate in the primary election. Whoever emerges as the gubernatorial candidate of the APC must have the charisma, clout and popularity needed to mount a formidable challenge at the poll proper.
It is worth mentioning that the high octane political gamesmanship in the state has also been influenced by extraneous events like the local government imbroglio in the state. For months on end, the refusal of the Federal government to release local government allocation locked it in crippling lawfare with the state government. The situation has created a situation that influences the political decisions of key stakeholders. On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed a suit by the state government challenging the refusal of the Federal government to release local government allocation to duly elected local government chairmen.
No one knows what the next move of Governor Adeleke is. The governor has repeatedly denied reports of an impending move to the APC, but if there is anything one must learn in Nigerian politics, it’s not to take words of a politician as gospel truth, especially where their political ambition is involved. Be that as it may, the APC’s dream of recapturing Osun from a seemingly troubled and crisis-ridden PDP must be perhaps the most defining election error of them all. Whatever ace the major political actors have up their sleeves one can only hope their theatrics and shenanigans have the best interest of the state and the people at heart.
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