…Oyetola, Oyebanji’s camp absent, Akande, Basiru, Omisoore, Others present

…Rainbow Coalition for Presidency only, not NASS -Adeleke clarifies.

By: Opeyemi Abolarinwa.

Chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, and Accord Party converged in Osogbo on Thursday for the inauguration of the Osun State Presidential Campaign Council for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu.

The council was inaugurated by Governor Ademola Adeleke, who was appointed Osun State Coordinator for the President’s re-election campaign.

The event came hours after the Osun State chapter of the APC said it was not briefed about the inauguration. Chairman of the party, Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement earlier on Thursday, said the party learnt of the event only through a social media listing by the Governor’s spokesperson, but added that it was not opposed to Governor Adeleke coordinating the campaign.

Despite the morning protest, the inauguration hall was filled with who is who in Osun politics but former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, Osun APC 2026 governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji and other executive members of the party who are loyal to Oyetola and captured in the Council list, were absent at the inauguration.

Prominent among those present were the pioneer national chairman of the APC, Bisi Akande, the National Secretary of the APC, Ajibola Basiru, former Osun Deputy Governor, Iyiola Omisore, Sola Adeyeye, Shuaib Oyedokun, former deputy governor, Sooko Adewoyin, Jide Omoworare, Olu Aina, and former deputy governor, Titi Laoye Ponle.

Others were Chairman of Osun Accord Party, Victor Akande, Chairman of Osun PDP, Sunday Bisi, Wale Oladiipo, and PDP chieftain, Adelakun Adeoye, among others.

Speaking while inaugurating the council, Governor Adeleke said the gathering was a rainbow coalition assembled to deliver massive votes for President Tinubu.

“It is with a high sense of responsibility that I stand here today to inaugurate the Osun State Presidential Campaign Council for the re-election of our dear father and leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We assemble here to mobilise and deliver even more than the 1.5 million votes we earlier promised Mr President,” Adeleke said.

“In this hall is a gathering of who is who in Osun political terrain. We have all the strikers, the defenders and the midfielders. This rainbow coalition of Accord, APC and PDP structures is superbly potent to deliver Osun overwhelmingly to Mr President come next year January,” he added.

Adeleke clarified that the coalition is solely for the presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027, and does not extend to other elections.

“Our coalition is solely about Mr President, a man who means so much to Osun state and Nigeria. Our alliance is about the presidential election on which we have all agreed to support the re-election of President Tinubu,” he said.

“As coalition partners on the presidential election, we must remind ourselves that the partnership does not extend to the legislative elections. While we will join hands to deliver Mr President on his party platform, coalition partners are free to work for their party candidates during the senatorial, House of Reps and House of Assembly elections. What ties us together is the presidential, not the legislative elections,” Adeleke stated.

The Governor also assured that both the Federal and Osun State governments are working to resolve the local government crisis in the state.

“Having made the above clarifications, I want to assure you that both the federal and state government are working to resolve the local government crisis as early as possible. Discussion has reached an advanced stage. Our dear state should expect good news very soon,” he said.

He urged unity among Osun political gladiators for the re-election of the President.

“These are critical times for the Yoruba people and Nigeria as a whole. For Osun people and her gladiators, we must accept God’s will and rally round the President irrespective of our previous disagreements. From the pain of the past, we must unite for the prosperity of the future. From unity in diversity, we must forge a new brotherhood behind our leader, Asiwaju Tinubu,” Adeleke said.

In his remarks, Chief Bisi Akande called for collaborative efforts by progressive-minded parties to ensure President Tinubu’s re-election.

Also speaking, Senator Iyiola Omisoore said all hands must be on deck irrespective of party affiliation to deliver the state for Tinubu.

“We need everybody irrespective of the political affiliation including ADC, Accord and others to vote for President Bola Tinubu, we are not talking about governorship, NASS and state assembly elections but for the re-election of our leader,” Omisore said.

“We should work hard to deliver 2 million votes for President Tinubu; it is possible and we must play our role effectively. I commend Governor Adeleke for the role he is playing in ensuring that our party wins the forthcoming presidential election,” he added.

On his part, APC National Secretary, Dr. Ajibola Basiru, said Osun must put aside personal ambitions and support Tinubu’s mission.

“For us in Osun State, we must understand that, irrespective of our feelings, ambitions or political interests, we must abide by the mission of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and support Governor Ademola Adeleke to ensure the success of the campaign,” Basiru said.

“I also want to emphasise that it is very important for us to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in securing a second term in office,” he added.

Basiru listed the reforms and achievements of the Tinubu administration, saying they have changed the economic fortunes of states.

“Today, states like Osun are facing challenges in accessing the resources needed to finance development. When I was a commissioner in this state, we had to resort to loans and overdrafts. However, the situation has changed because of the reforms introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.

He pointed to the student loan scheme, road infrastructure and improving economic indicators.

“For our students, there is now a situation where the duration of a four-year course remains four years, but the fees they are required to pay are becoming increasingly expensive with the student loan scheme, more than 46 million Nigerian youths are expected to benefit. The President has also released N50 billion to support national interventions. About 5,500 kilometres of roads are under construction under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration,” Basiru said.

“Today, while travelling from Ibadan, I observed that the concrete road project was progressing from the Asejire towards Gbongan. Another section is also extending towards the Ilesa area. Inflation is coming down. It stood at 14.63 per cent in September, compared with 16.3 per cent in August, and has been declining gradually over the past 16 months,” he stated.

Basiru warned against returning to the era of unpaid salaries and urged unity.

“We will not allow anybody, particularly someone who has served as a ‘wole-wole’, to take us back to the circumstances in which the government could not pay workers’ salaries. I appeal to all of us in Osun State to come together and work with our government, irrespective of our political parties, and support it to deliver massive electoral victories for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he concluded.