• Refutes report of courting Aregbesola for reconciliation
• Adeleke’s defection to APC will spell electoral doom, youth group warns
One of the governorship aspirants ahead of the 2026 election in Osun State under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, Ajibola Basiru, has denied making efforts to reconcile with a former governor of the state, Rauf Aregbesola, in a bid to boost his chances of electoral victory.
National Secretary of the APC, through the Senator Ajibola Basiru Campaign Organisation, strongly dissociated himself from a recent publication (not The Guardian) that alleged that he was courting Aregbesola.
Basiru, who described the report as false and purely a figment of the writer’s imagination, also debunked the report that he criticised President Bola Tinubu harshly for hosting Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
According to a statement by the campaign’s spokesperson, Suleiman Ajala, yesterday, the buildup to the Osun 2026 governorship election has given rise to many fabricated stories and baseless allegations aimed at tarnishing the image of Basiru, noting that “the most recent lies are the claims that he is courting Aregbesola for reconciliation to support his gubernatorial aspiration and also criticising President Tinubu over the recent visit of Adeleke and his family to the President.”
MEANWHILE, a youth group, Osun Progressives Youth, has warned that the defection of Adeleke to the All Progressives Congress (APC) will spell doom for the opposition party in the state ahead of the 2026 and 2027 elections.
The group, within the Osun APC, also warned that Adeleke’s presence in the party will erode public trust and lead to factions within APC because the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state had demonised the APC leader, Adegboyega Oyetola.
A statement by the Co-ordinator of the group, Tunmise Ajiboye, yesterday, explained that, “Adeleke’s presence will only bring bad luck to the APC because he knows that he will be bitterly defeated by the candidate of our party in the 2026 gubernatorial poll.
However, a socio-political group, Osun Leaders of Thought, has praised Adeleke for his recent visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It described the visit as a demonstration of political maturity and a step toward strengthening South-West unity despite parties’ differences.
In a statement signed by its Press Officer, Adekunle Adebayo, and made available to journalists yesterday, the group said Adeleke’s decision to visit Tinubu, who is a member of a different political party, was not only commendable but necessary for fostering collaboration across party lines.
The group, while hailing the President for receiving the governor warmly, expressed concern over criticisms from some members of the APC faulted the meeting between the two leaders.
It also condemned the comment made by a former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, who reportedly said “the Osun APC ticket is not for sale” while reacting to the visit. The group said that such a remark was unnecessary and unprovoked.
