Why Adeleke’s defection to Accord was delayed

The Osun State Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, says Governor Ademola Adeleke delayed announcing his move to the Accord Party because he did not want to cause controversy during the recent PDP convention in Ibadan.

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Alimi said Adeleke had already completed his defection process weeks earlier.

“He resigned from the PDP on November 4 and joined Accord on November 6,” Alimi said. “He only delayed the public declaration because the PDP convention was ongoing, and he didn’t want people to accuse him of disrupting the event.”

Adeleke officially joined Accord on Tuesday after ending his long association with the PDP, the party that brought him into office. In his resignation letter to the PDP Ward 2 chairman in Ede North, the governor said he was leaving because of the party’s deepening leadership crisis.

Alimi explained that the governor became convinced that staying in the PDP would hurt his political future.

“He left because the leadership crisis was unending,” he said.

The commissioner added that Accord’s manifesto aligns more closely with Adeleke’s governing style.

“People have welcomed him since his unveiling yesterday. They believe Accord fits with the good governance he’s been delivering,” Alimi noted.

Despite his switch to Accord, Adeleke will continue to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

“That is not news. Even when we were in the PDP, we adopted President Tinubu for a second term,” Alimi said.

He also stated that Tinubu’s roots in Osun make the governor’s support natural.

Adeleke’s departure adds to the growing number of high-profile exits from the PDP, which is currently split between two national leadership factions. A recent convention backed by Governors Seyi Makinde and Bala Mohammed further deepened tensions instead of resolving the party’s internal dispute.