Adeleke Opens Up on Pact with ADC in Osun Election

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun state has dismissed claims of a political pact with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the August 15 governorship election in the state.

This was just as the governor insisted that the ADC was not part of the coalition that backed his re-election bid.

Adeleke made the clarification on Tuesday through his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, following comments by the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, that the party had collaborated with the Accord Party to prevent the All Progressives Congress (APC) from reclaiming power in the state.

Abdullahi, while speaking on Trust TV on Monday, said the ADC recognised early enough that splitting opposition votes could give the APC an advantage in the election.

He said the party therefore chose to work with the Accord Party as part of efforts to stop the APC from returning to power.

“We saw the possibility of collaboration. We saw the possibility earlier enough that if we decided to go full throttle, the possibility that the opposition would divide the votes and the APC would take the victory was there,” Abdullahi said.

“And that was why we saw the opportunity to work together, and that was what happened.”

Recall that the ADC governorship candidate, Najeem Salaam, polled 17,180 votes in the election, while Adeleke, who contested on the Accord platform, secured 511,067 votes to defeat the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who garnered 444,815 votes.

Abdullahi said the ADC did not consider its candidate’s failure to win the governorship as a defeat, insisting that its major objective was to prevent the APC from taking control of the state.

“That is why we can confidently celebrate what is going on in Osun, because for us, victory means that APC was defeated,” he said.

He further clarified that the ADC did not necessarily direct its supporters to vote for Adeleke, but rather entered into an understanding with the Accord Party.

“We cooperated with the Accord Party,” he said.

However, Adeleke rejected any suggestion that the ADC was part of the political alliance that supported his campaign.

The governor said the ADC had no agreement with him “before, during and after” the election, while crediting God and the people of Osun for his victory.

“I commend political partners who went all out to make Saturday a victory day for all Osun people. But we must clarify for the sake of history that ADC was never part of the alliance,” Adeleke said.

He also praised the political allies who supported his re-election bid, saying their contributions were instrumental to the outcome of the poll.

Adeleke, who secured another term in office after defeating the APC candidate, said the conclusion of the election had ended political divisions, pledging to govern the state in the interest of all residents.

“Now that the election is over, I am a governor of all Osun people irrespective of political groups, religion or race,” he said.

Meanwhile, former minister of Interior and former Osun governor, Rauf Aregbesola, on Monday, congratulated Governor Adeleke on his re-election, urging him to use his renewed mandate to unite the state and govern all residents fairly.

Aregbesola, the ADC national secretary, said the outcome of the August 15 governorship election reflected the choice of the people and should be respected by all political actors.