Politics
Osun 2026: Adeleke’s Camp Fires Back At Ganduje
The National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Dr Umar Ganduje suffers from verbal diarrhea and swollen ego with an agenda to destabilise the South West zone and create a crisis for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the home front.
This is the salve fired from the camp of Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, as parties gear up for hostilities for the renewal or not of his mandate in 2026.
In a statement in Osogbo on Tuesday signed by Spokesperson to Governor Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed, they alleged that “Dr Ganduje is clearly unhappy with the peace and united front behind Mr President from the South West zone and has now launched vicious attacks to ignite regional political battles to weaken the President ahead of 2027.”
The statement in reaction to the vow by Dr Umar Ganduje to hijack Osun in 2026.
Rasheed said the anti-democratic utterances of the APC leader contrasted sharply with the democratic credentials of President Tinibu. He wondered why the APC leader would be found speaking like an amateur dictator without respect for history.
As a well-read politician, one would have expected Dr Ganduje to know that electoral contests depend mostly on local indexes and factors and that what played out in Edo and Ondo States were surely different from political facts on ground in Osun state.
Local permutations, grievances and interests dictate how people vote rather than superimposed force, the Spokesperson noted, citing the failure of the APC leader to win the Kano State governorship race for his party.
In Kano, the local peculiarities enforced the subsisting victory of the Kwankwasiyya group which beat the Ganduje caucus, despite their being in office for eight years.
He asked, “If Dr Ganduje failed in his own state because internal forces rejected his brand of politics, why is he thinking Osun factors which enthroned Gov Adeleke would not resist any attempt to disrespect the will of Osun people in 2026?”
According to the Spokesperson, Osun State is the cradle of Yoruba people where political freedom is cherished and where resistance to electoral fraud is a strong tradition, describing Dr Ganduje as “a threat to democracy and an insider enemy of President Tinubu.
“If Dr Ganduje truly loves Mr President, why is he pushing to destabilize the president’s home zone through open threats to violate electoral law and deny the electorate their rights to vote and be voted for? By threatening to hijack opposition states, the APC leader is undermining the general consensus among Yoruba people which accept Mr President as their own irrespective of political differences.
“If, however, the statement of the APC leader is borne out of ignorance, he is invited to study Osun politics to get better informed of the dynamics of this state’s politics and to appreciate that what works in Edo and Ondo cannot play out here for several reasons.
“In Osun State, the ruling party, the PDP is daily receiving thousands of decampees from opposition parties. The PDP in Osun is already a strong mass movement which cannot be overrun by a party chairman who failed to deliver his own state and who does not have the mandate of Mr President to ignite conflict in the South West zone.
“The PDP in Osun State is too deeply planted to be threatened or suppressed by any electoral robber and Governor Adeleke remains an extraordinarily popular leader whose mandate now or in 2026 cannot be hijacked by anti- democratic forces”, the Spokesperson noted.
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has explained that the persistent crisis and legal disputes within the Peoples Democratic Party compelled him to defect to the All Progressives Congress.
The governor’s defection was formally announced on Monday by his deputy, Mani Mummuni, after a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Government House in Gusau.
In a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, the move was described as a necessary step taken in the interest of the state and supported by political stakeholders across Zamfara.
SEE ALSO: JUST IN: PDP Crisis Deepens as Appeal Court Upholds Ban on Ibadan Convention
According to the statement, Governor Lawal had remained committed to the PDP despite the ongoing leadership crisis and had made several efforts to reconcile factions within the party.
However, attempts to achieve peace and unity reportedly failed, leading to prolonged legal battles.
The development followed a judgment by the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which dismissed an appeal filed by the PDP challenging an earlier ruling of the Federal High Court.
The earlier judgment had restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising the outcome of the party’s national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The governor was said to have informed political stakeholders during a series of meetings that he would make a final decision about his political future after the appellate court delivered its ruling.
Following the judgment, Lawal concluded that joining the APC would better position him to continue what he described as the “Zamfara Rescue and Rebuild Mission.”
His defection marks a significant shift in the political landscape of Zamfara State and could influence political alignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has handed a significant setback to Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, dismissing his appeal challenging a Federal High Court ruling that questioned his eligibility to contest the upcoming governorship election.
A three-member panel delivered a unanimous judgment on Monday, affirming that the trial court acted correctly when it allowed Dr Akindele Egbuwalo, the plaintiff, to amend his originating summons.
ALSO READ: No Shake-Up in Ondo: Aiyedatiwa Denies Plot To Remove Deputy Gov
Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who read the lead judgment, said the governor failed to show that the High Court’s decision caused any miscarriage of justice or denied him a fair hearing.
The appeal was therefore dismissed for lacking merit, and the court awarded ₦2 million in costs against Aiyedatiwa.
The ruling reinforces the November 24, 2025, Federal High Court decision in Akure, which granted Egbuwalo permission to challenge Aiyedatiwa’s eligibility for re-election.
Earlier, the Court of Appeal also rejected an application by Aiyedatiwa to set aside a January 27, 2026, order staying proceedings in the case before the Federal High Court.
The appellate court clarified that the stay was a lawful exercise of its jurisdiction aimed at protecting the integrity of the proceedings.
The panel further emphasized that attempting to overturn its own order would be akin to sitting on appeal over its own decision.
The governor’s remaining option, the court noted, is to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court. Another ₦2 million in costs was awarded against Aiyedatiwa.
The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party has deepened following a ruling by the Court of Appeal in Abuja which upheld a ban on the party’s proposed national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State.
A three-man panel of the appellate court on Monday dismissed an appeal filed by a faction of the party led by former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki, challenging the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to hear a suit concerning the controversial convention.
The Turaki-led faction had approached the Court of Appeal after a Federal High Court barred the party from holding its planned national convention scheduled for November 14 and 15, 2025.
SEE MORE: Fubara Moves to Rebuild Cabinet as R/Assembly Screens Nine Commissioner Nominees
The lower court also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising or validating the proposed convention.
However, delivering judgment, the appellate court ruled that the Federal High Court had the authority to entertain the case, rejecting the argument that the matter was purely an internal affair of the party.
According to the court, the appellants could not present what it described as a clear violation of the party’s constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as merely an internal party issue.
The panel subsequently dismissed the appeal and awarded a cost of N2 million against the appellants.
The ruling is part of judgments delivered in nine harmonised appeals filed by the Turaki-led faction over the dispute surrounding the convention.
The latest court decision is expected to further intensify the internal wrangling within the opposition party as it continues to grapple with leadership disputes and preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Fuel Price Shock: Nigerians May Soon Pay ₦1,500 Per Litre – Marketers Warn
Political Earthquake in Zamfara as Gov Lawal Dumps PDP for APC
Court Pushes Malami, Son’s Terrorism Financing Trial to April 15
African Club Football Gets Major Financial Boost as CAF Hikes Prize Money
Abramovich Clashes with UK Gov’t Over £2.35bn Chelsea Sale Funds
Global Crisis: Attacks on Schools Skyrocket 166% – UN Sounds Alarm on Children’s Safety
Trump’s Family Unveils New Cryptocurrency Platform
Reps Recommend 3-year Jail Term For Aviation minister
Senate Denies Receiving Petitions Against Tinubu’s Ambassadorial Nominees
Dangote Cement Lights Up Benue Host Communities With CSR Initiatives
Things To Know About Threads, Zuckerberg’s Twitter-like App
