OSUN’S strange bedfellows – Tinubu, Adeleke and the new politics of 2027— Kazeem Tiamiyu

In Osun politics, dance has always been more than entertainment. When Governor Ademola Adeleke, famous for his dancing steps, danced beside President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, the symbolism was not lost on politicians back home.

Two days earlier, the APC had released its revised 2027 Presidential Campaign Council list. On it, Governor Adeleke, who won his second term in August under the Accord Party, was named Osun State Coordinator for President Tinubu’s re-election. 0ac6

The President’s own party has a full structure in Osun, led by former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, now listed as Deputy National Coordinator I for Stakeholders Mobilisation in the South-West. But for Osun, the face of Tinubu’s 2027 campaign will not be an APC chieftain. It will be an Accord governor.

It is part of a wider pattern. The same list named FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, a PDP chieftain, as coordinator for Rivers and the FCT, and Governor Chukwuma Soludo of APGA as coordinator for Anambra. 6e23

The Accord View: A Call To Service, Not A Defection

For the Accord Party in Osun, the appointment needed careful explanation.

State Chairman, Pastor Victor Babalola Akande, in a statement congratulated Adeleke, calling it a call to service based on the governor’s goodwill and ability to mobilize across divides. He urged party members to view it with political maturity.

According to Akande, the assignment does not diminish Adeleke’s identity as a leader of Accord nor weaken the party’s principles. Instead, it shows that political affiliations do not prevent cooperation on issues of common interest. He also pointed to President Tinubu’s Yoruba heritage and ancestral ties to Osun as a factor residents should consider. b96d

The Imole Campaign Council, Adeleke’s own political machine, was more triumphant. Its Director-General, Senator Olalere Oyewumi, welcomed the appointment as “well-deserved” and pledged to mobilize 1.5 million votes for Tinubu in 2027 using Accord structures.

“We assure the President that his confidence in the ability of Governor Adeleke to deliver Osun in the Presidential election will not be misplaced,” Oyewumi said. 2455

Adeleke himself framed his support as regional solidarity. Speaking at the inauguration, he said: “I am here to throw my weight behind Tinubu’s return to Aso Rock… if he succeeds, we all succeed.” ae6b

The APC View: Strategy or Snub?

Inside the Osun APC, reactions have split into two clear schools, reflecting the shockwave captured by headlines describing the state chapter as “in turmoil” after the announcement. 409b

School 1: The Strategic Realists:
This group argues the President is playing realpolitik. Adeleke is the sitting governor, with the state machinery, popularity, and Accord structure behind him. Having tried and failed to join APC before his re-election, according to reports, he remains the most potent vote-catcher in Osun. For Tinubu to win Osun in 2027, a state he lost in 2023, he needs Adeleke. Oyetola’s elevation to South-West Deputy National Coordinator is seen as compensation and a face-saving balancing act. 6e23

One APC elder in Osogbo who asked not to be named said: “Politics is about winning. Baba has given us a bigger role in the South-West while using Adeleke to deliver Osun. That is statesmanship.”

School 2: The Loyalist Grumblers:
The second school feels sidelined. They laboured for APC in opposition in Osun for years, only to see the biggest prize — state coordinator — handed to an Accord governor. They question what happens to party patronage, loyalty, and morale when an outsider leads the President’s campaign in their backyard.

This is similar to the Rivers scenario, where APC Governor Siminalayi Fubara was excluded as coordinator while Wike was appointed. 6e23

For them, the question is: if Adeleke delivers Osun for Tinubu, does he then claim all the rewards of the victory for Accord?

An APC youth leader in Ilesa summarized the feeling: “We will work for Asiwaju, but the party must not forget those who kept the flag flying when it was difficult.”

What This Means For Osun

Beyond the party grumblings, this appointment signals a new political culture emerging ahead of 2027 — where regional alignment and personal networks are trumping strict party ideology. 5a6e

As one analyst noted, the inclusion of opposition figures “underscores a shifting paradigm… where regional alignments are increasingly superseding strict party ideologies.”

For the ordinary voter in Ede, Iwo, or Ife, the message is confusing. Accord is campaigning for APC for President, while both parties will field opposing candidates for National Assembly and State Assembly. The campaign slogan from Adeleke’s camp — “A vote for President Tinubu is a support for Governor Adeleke” — deliberately blurs that line. 2455

But as the Allied Peoples Movement chairman in Osun, Wale Adebayo, warned after the appointment, Osun voters are politically sophisticated and will not vote based on whose name appears on a campaign list. bc63

In the end, President Tinubu has placed a bold bet. He has bet that Governor Ademola Adeleke, the dancing governor of Accord, can deliver 1.5 million votes from an APC state without an APC governor. Whether that dance leads to victory in Osun or to deeper cracks within his own party will be the real feature story of 2027.