Breaking: Adebayo Adedamola declared Osun PDP 2026 gov candidate

Adebayo Adedamola has emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for the 2026 Osun State election, following a primary held in Osogbo on Tuesday.

Adedamola secured 919 out of 957 votes cast, with 20 votes declared void. The result was announced by the primary chairman, Humphrey Abba, who noted that one of the aspirants had withdrawn.

Although Governor Ademola Adeleke’s name appeared on the ballot, the Secretary of the electoral committee, Sunday Solarin, confirmed that votes cast for him would not be valid, as the governor had formally resigned from the party on November 4, 2025.

Adeleke’s resignation letter, addressed to PDP Ward 2 Chairman Sagba Abogunde in Ede North Local Government, cited internal crises at the national level of the party as his reason for leaving. In the letter, he wrote: “I hereby resign my membership of the PDP with immediate effect. I thank the People’s Democratic Party for the opportunities given to me for my elections as a Senator and as Governor of Osun State under the PDP.”

His resignation was confirmed by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed.

The PDP primary was conducted under tight security, with officers from the Department of State Security, Nigeria Police, and NSCDC on duty. INEC representatives and a committee from the PDP national secretariat supervised the exercise.

Osun PDP Chairman Sunday Bisi had earlier said the party was struggling to conduct the primary on schedule due to ongoing internal disputes. According to INEC’s timetable for the August 8, 2026 election, political parties have until December 15 to submit the names of their candidates.

With Adedamola now officially on the ballot, attention shifts to Adeleke’s next political move ahead of the 2026 governorship race.