By Eshioromeh Sebastian
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has declared that Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke is now fully aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s camp, asserting that the political opposition has become largely irrelevant ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike made the declaration during an inspection of the ongoing renovation at the IBB International Golf and Country Club in Abuja. He stated that Adeleke’s recent visit to President Tinubu was not merely a courtesy call but part of a strategic plan to build a “larger Rainbow Coalition” in support of the President’s re-election bid.
“I don’t know what you call opposition as far as there is no opposition now,” Wike stated. He noted that while Adeleke ran for re-election on the platform of the Accord Party due to internal wranglings within the Peoples Democratic Party, he remains a member of the PDP but is now committed to supporting President Tinubu.
“He’s in a different party; I’m supporting Mr. President, and I’m in a different party. So, it’s a larger Rainbow Coalition,” Wike explained.
He dismissed claims by the African Democratic Congress regarding their role in Adeleke’s victory, accusing them of attempting to “harvest where they never planted”.
Regarding the opposition, specifically mentioning political figures like Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, Wike remained combative. He said their discomfort over the political realignments gives him no concern, adding that his “job” is to ensure they remain unsettled.
“If they are having high blood pressures, yes, that’s my job—to make them have high blood pressure,” Wike said.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Ademola Adeleke Campaign Council, Pelumi Olajengbesi, has moved to clarify the governor’s political status. While confirming that Adeleke will work with the federal government to advance the interests of Osun State, he dismissed speculation that the governor plans to defect to the All Progressives Congress.
“The essence of that visit has nothing to do with Governor Ademola Adeleke joining APC. It’s an impossibility,” Olajengbesi insisted.
Olajengbesi described Adeleke’s visit to the President as a routine courtesy call consistent with the principles of Nigeria’s federal system, intended to demonstrate respect for the office of the President.
He stressed that Adeleke’s victory was primarily the result of the support of Osun voters, rather than the backing of another political party.
“The election is about the people coming out en masse to support a governor who has diligently worked for them,” Olajengbesi said.
The clarification comes amid broader concerns regarding the conduct of the Osun election. The Coalition of Public Interest Lawyers and Advocates has given the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Nigeria Police Force a seven-day ultimatum to investigate alleged inciting statements and killings linked to the governorship poll.
COPA cited videos allegedly showing political actors threatening opponents and, in some instances, calling for violence, which the coalition claims was followed by reported fatalities in communities such as Esa-Oke and Ilesa.
National Coordinator of COPA, Ajibola Bello, said the allegations could not be swept aside simply because the election had been concluded.
“Where a serving Senator is recorded allegedly telling supporters to kill members of an opposing political party, and people subsequently lose their lives in election-related violence, the institutions established by law cannot simply look away,” Bello said.
The coalition demanded that INEC exercise its prosecutorial powers under Section 148 of the Electoral Act 2026 and ensure that anyone against whom sufficient evidence of an offence exists is brought before a competent court.
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