In light of the recent wave of defections affecting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Tosin Odeyemi, the chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Osun, stated on Thursday that additional party leaders are expected to leave ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial election in the state.
Odeyemi suggested that forthcoming political realignments could lead some significant figures and members of the ruling party to oppose the re-election of the current governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke. He claimed that certain appointees of the governor were not providing him with accurate information regarding the socioeconomic conditions that could influence the PDP’s prospects in the upcoming election.
This statement followed the resignation of Honourable Oluwole Oke, who represents the Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency, from the PDP, as well as the departures of Delta State Governor Mr. Sheriff Oborevwori and his predecessor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, from the opposition party. Odeyemi argued that those who genuinely care about Osun’s progress within the PDP will not passively accept what he described as the dismal state of governance in the region.
He remarked, ‘While it can be partially acknowledged that Governor Ademola Adeleke had good intentions in seeking to lead Osun, he is surrounded by individuals more focused on power than on effective governance for all. They struggle to provide him with sound advice.’ He concluded by expressing concern for the PDP’s future in Osun, indicating that the number of individuals who will publicly leave the party is small compared to those who will remain to undermine it.
The media and publicity director of the PDP in Osun, Hezekiah Oladele Bamiji, recently issued a statement refuting Odeyemi’s assertions concerning the state’s governance and Adeleke’s electoral prospects in the upcoming gubernatorial election.
He argued that the NNPP chairman lacks the qualifications to evaluate the PDP-led administration, asserting that he has never possessed the necessary experience to lead at the governance level throughout his life. Bamiji further criticized Odeyemi, stating that his reputation in the state is primarily that of a political opportunist, flitting between various minor political factions in an attempt to promote his tarnished image to other politically desperate individuals through reckless and self-serving remarks.
He emphasized that governance transcends the deceptive portrayal of a fabricated sorrow, where citizens are surreptitiously deprived while the individual in question remains inactive, akin to a newly enlisted soldier.
