Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has denied claims that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) worked with his party to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the August 15 governorship election.
Adeleke defeated Bola Oyebamiji, the APC candidate, and Najeem Salaam of the ADC in the keenly contested poll.
The governor polled 511,067 votes to win the election, while Oyebamiji secured 444,815 votes and Salaam garnered 17,180 votes.
Adeleke won 19 local government areas, with Oyebamiji taking the remaining 11.
Speaking on Trust TV on Monday, Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the ADC, said the party had collaborated with Accord to help Adeleke secure re-election and prevent the APC from winning.
Abdullahi said the ADC had anticipated that opposition votes could be split, creating an opening for the APC.
“We saw the possibility of collaboration. We saw the possibility earlier enough that if we decided to go full throttle, the possibility that the opposition would divide the votes and the APC would take the victory was there,” Abdullahi said.
“And that was why we saw the opportunity to work together, and that was what happened.”
Adeleke: ‘No deal with ADC’
However, Adeleke rejected the claim in a post on X on Tuesday, saying the ADC was not part of the coalition that supported his re-election campaign.
The governor credited God and the people of Osun State for his victory while commending his political allies for their support during the election.
“I had no electoral deal or partnership with the ADC before, during, or after the governorship election,” Adeleke wrote.
“The credit for our victory goes to God Almighty and the good people of Osun State for their overwhelming support and re-election.
“For the sake of history, it is important to clarify that the ADC was never part of the rainbow coalition that canvassed, mobilised, and supported our campaign in the battle leading to last Saturday’s election.”
Adeleke also praised the political partners who supported his campaign and described their contributions as instrumental to his victory.
“Now that the election is over, I remain the Governor of all Osun people, irrespective of political affiliation, religion, or tribe. My commitment is to unite our people and continue working for the progress and prosperity of Osun State,” he said.
The claims and counter-claims followed the election in which Adeleke secured a second term after defeating the APC candidate by 66,252 votes.
