An Accord Party governor is now the face of an APC presidential campaign. Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has been named state coordinator for President Bola Tinubu‘s 2027 re-election effort, despite belonging to a rival political party.
Adeleke‘s appointment is contained in a revised list of the APC’s Presidential Campaign Council, released ahead of the council’s inauguration scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The revised list supersedes an earlier version and reflects significant last-minute changes to the campaign’s state-level leadership structure.
The development has unsettled the APC in Osun, where members had expected that Gboyega Oyetola, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy and leader of the party in the state, would be named coordinator. Oyetola, who governed Osun from 2018 to 2022, is widely regarded as the most senior APC figure in the state and commands the loyalty of the party’s grassroots machinery.
Oyetola was instead named deputy national coordinator I for stakeholders’ mobilization in the South-West, a role that sits below Adeleke’s in the campaign structure.
The declaration by the Osun APC has set the stage for a possible confrontation between the official party structure loyal to Oyetola and the Accord-led camp being positioned by Adeleke to lead Tinubu’s campaign in Osun.
The Osun APC, in a statement issued Monday, declared it would not tolerate any parallel campaign activities ahead of the January 2027 presidential election.
Osun APC Chairman Tajudeen Lawal said any individual or group seeking to work for Tinubu’s re-election must team up with the leadership of the party, warning that no parallel approach to the coordinated campaign effort would be permitted. Lawal further stated that the party’s state executive council had been directed to compile a register of all recognized campaign volunteers operating under the official APC structure in Osun.
Former Osun State governor Adebisi Akande and his then-deputy Iyiola Omisore were listed among the campaign council’s advisers, placing both veteran APC figures in subordinate roles to Adeleke. Akande, a founding figure of the APC and former national chairman of its predecessor party, the Alliance for Democracy, is considered one of the most respected elder statesmen in Yoruba political circles.
Adeleke won re-election on August 15, defeating APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji with 511,067 votes, after which he again declared support for Tinubu, citing the president’s regional identity and a desire to see federal projects in the South-West completed.
The Imole Campaign Council confirmed the appointment, with Director General Senator Olalere Oyewumi signing a statement that described the role as well deserved and said it showed the confidence Tinubu reposes in Adeleke’s ability to deliver the state.
“We promise the president, just like Governor Adeleke had said some time ago, that we will deliver 1.5 million votes to ensure his victory in the coming presidential election,” the council said.
The council added that all Accord Party structures in Osun would be deployed to work for the president’s re-election, representing a significant organizational commitment given that Accord controls the governorship and several local government councils across the state.
Adeleke is not alone in crossing party lines for Tinubu’s campaign. FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, a PDP member, was named coordinator for Rivers State and the FCT, while Anambra Governor Chukwuma Soludo of APGA was appointed coordinator for Anambra. Labour Party’s Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang was also reported to be among those in discussions with the campaign council over a possible coordination role.
The cross-party makeup of the appointments reflects an effort to build a broader political coalition around Tinubu’s second-term bid that extends beyond the formal APC structure.
Tinubu’s expanded Presidential Campaign Council is scheduled for inauguration at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday, October 14, with Adeleke’s Osun State coordinator role formally taking effect from that date.
