Adeleke’s aide blasts APC over alleged plot to deregister Accord Party

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

The spokesperson to Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, has challenged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to test its claimed electoral strength at the polls rather than pursue plots to undermine the Accord Party ahead of the 2026 governorship election.

Reacting to a call by the lawmaker representing Obokun/Oriade federal constituency, Hon. Wole Oke, for the deregistration of the Accord Party, Rasheed accused the lawmaker of engaging in unlawful advocacy to please former Governor of Osun State and current Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola.

Rasheed said the growing popularity of the Accord as a platform for Governor Adeleke has unsettled the APC, prompting calls for the party’s deregistration instead of an open political contest.

He dismissed such moves as undemocratic, insisting that a party confident of victory should be willing to face voters directly.

According to him, “As the APC is desperately working to financially strangle Osun State by withholding local government allocations to punish voters, it is equally plotting to destroy the ruling party. That is not democracy; that is a recipe for democratic chaos.

“The APC’s strategy is built on undemocratic plots rather than contending with the electorate, who have serious questions for Mr Bola Oyebamiji and the APC hierarchy. If the APC is sure of its electoral potency, it should drop the plot to destroy the Accord and let the fight be taken to the voters.”

Rasheed emphasised that Adeleke’s performance since 2022 — spanning improvements in primary healthcare, education, infrastructure, agriculture, pension and salary debt repayment, and ease of doing business — demonstrates effective governance.

He challenged the APC governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, to present his party’s record from 2018 to 2022, stressing that the comparison clearly favours the incumbent. “Governor Adeleke has surpassed 12 years of APC rule in just three years. We also challenge Mr Oyebamiji to a policy debate and to answer questions about his tenure at the Osun Investment Agency and as Commissioner for Finance.”