Osun 2026: Accord Party Dismisses Oyinlola’s APC Endorsement, Backs Adeleke’s Re-election

The Accord Party in Osun State has dismissed former governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola’s endorsement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, saying the move will not stop Governor Ademola Adeleke from winning Saturday’s governorship election.

Osun Accord chairman, Victor Akande, made the position known in a statement issued on Monday, arguing that Oyinlola and other former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders who backed Oyebamiji lacked the political influence to change the outcome of the election.

Akande accused Oyinlola, former Secretary to the State Government Fatai Akinbade, and former Commissioner for Special Duties Tajudeen Oladipo of working against Adeleke during the 2018 and 2022 elections. He claimed the trio later returned to Adeleke’s camp after his 2022 victory and benefited from his administration.

The Accord chairman described their latest decision to support the APC candidate as politically insignificant, alleging that the former PDP leaders had failed to stop Adeleke’s victory in previous elections.

“Osun Accord remains ever strong and Governor Adeleke remains unbeatable in the forthcoming polls,” Akande said.

He also accused the defecting leaders of abandoning the governor for political reasons, claiming that they had little grassroots support in their respective local government areas. Akande further alleged that voters regarded them as political opportunists.

Akande urged Osun residents to intensify grassroots mobilisation for Adeleke, while expressing satisfaction that what he described as “fifth columnists” had left the platform supporting the governor.

The development follows Oyinlola’s declaration on Sunday that a faction of the PDP in Osun had decided to support Oyebamiji, the APC candidate, in Saturday’s governorship election. Oyinlola said the decision followed concerns over what he described as a lack of inclusion in Adeleke’s administration.

Oyinlola was joined at the endorsement event in Osogbo by Akinbade and Oladipo. The former governor, however, stressed that the group had not left the PDP, saying its decision to back Oyebamiji was based on its conviction that the move would serve the interests of Osun State.

The latest endorsement adds another layer to an increasingly competitive Osun governorship election, with political parties and influential figures stepping up their efforts to secure support ahead of the poll.