A former National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Iyiola Omisore, has described Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, as a “political orphan” allegedly lobbying intensely to join the ruling party amid dwindling influence in the Peoples Democratic Party.
Omisore, a former senator and chieftain of the APC, made the claim while speaking on Politics Today, a live current affairs programme aired by Channels Television and monitored by Mega Icon Magazine on Wednesday night. He dismissed growing speculations of the APC wooing Adeleke, insisting instead that the governor has been making back-channel efforts to gain admission into the party.
“I’ve never seen a governor begging to enter a party in my life. This is the first time. He’s strongly begging, fighting to get into a party,” Omisore said. “They’ve been meeting the president; they met him and a few people. They even met Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun State, to bring him into the party. So they are struggling.”
The former Osun deputy governor said Adeleke’s defection plot is not driven by strength, but desperation, noting that the PDP has lost ground in Osun State.
“PDP is no longer popular in Osun; half of its members have defected. The Aregbesola faction has now moved to ADC. So he [Adeleke] is now a political orphan,” Omisore declared.
He warned that mere overtures to APC leaders were not enough, stressing that any defection must involve genuine consultation with grassroots stakeholders.
“If they are coming to the APC, they should come home and talk to us. When you want to come to a party, there must be a willing section of the party members. Politics is very local,” he said.
Omisore also questioned Adeleke’s political capital and leadership impact since assuming office, arguing that the governor had failed to attract any major defection from APC to PDP in three years.
“In the 2022 election, APC garnered 375,000 votes, and PDP had 403,000 votes — a difference of just 3.97 per cent. That margin included the efforts of people who worked against APC, like former governor Aregbesola and some PDP leaders, who have now joined the APC,” he said.
He listed notable politicians who had left the PDP for the APC in recent times, including Alhaji Isa Oyedokun, Dayo Babayemi, and Hon. Wole Oke.
Omisore also threw a jab at Adeleke’s perceived lack of grassroots clout, saying, “If you’re truly popular, take another platform and win — like Governor Orji Kalu in 2007 with PPA, or Governor Alex Otti who left APC and won with Labour Party. That’s what political relevance means.”
There has been no official comment yet from Adeleke or the Osun State Government regarding Omisore’s claims.
