By A congratulatory message from Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo to newly re-elected Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has triggered a denial from the governor’s campaign organisation, after the minister’s choice of words suggested the existence of a political pact between Adeleke and President Bola Tinubu.
Keyamo took to X on Sunday with two separate posts congratulating Adeleke on what he called a historic victory in Saturday’s governorship election. In the second post, he thanked Adeleke for publicly and unequivocally endorsing Tinubu’s 2027 presidential re-election bid, calling the governor a man of integrity and honour and adding the now-widely-discussed line, “Agreement is agreement.”
The phrase quickly drew mixed reactions online, with some social media users interpreting it as confirmation of a private political arrangement between Adeleke and Tinubu, a suggestion that put the governor’s camp on the back foot just hours after his re-election was declared.
Imole Campaign Council Pushes Back
Responding on his own X handle, the spokesperson for Adeleke’s Imole Campaign Council, Pelumi Olajengbesi, rejected the idea of any political bargain behind the governor’s endorsement of Tinubu, insisting the support was rooted in the president’s record rather than a private understanding between the two men. Quoting Keyamo’s post directly, Olajengbesi cautioned against reading too much into the minister’s comment and stressed that it should not be allowed to overshadow the choice made by Osun voters on Saturday.
He argued that Osun’s outcome belonged squarely to the electorate, framing Tinubu’s role as limited to ensuring that democratic procedure was respected rather than shaping the result, and maintained that the governor’s continued backing of the president was grounded in economic reforms he said had strengthened states across the federation.
Endorsement Predates the Poll
The episode traces back to comments Adeleke made before Saturday’s election, in which he publicly reaffirmed his support for Tinubu’s second-term ambition and described the president as a son of Osun State. Keyamo’s Sunday message was widely read as a direct response to that earlier endorsement, with his emphasis on honouring “agreements” fuelling speculation about what, if anything, had been promised in return for Adeleke’s support.
Context: A Decisive Result
Keyamo’s congratulations came after INEC formally declared Adeleke winner of Saturday’s election. The State Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, announced at the Osogbo collation centre around 7:24 a.m. Sunday that Adeleke had polled 511,067 votes against 444,815 for his closest rival, Bola Oyebamiji of the APC, out of 985,079 total valid votes cast across the state’s 30 local government areas.
The exchange between Keyamo and the Adeleke camp adds a new layer to what has already been an eventful post-election news cycle, following President Tinubu’s own congratulatory statement to Adeleke a day earlier, in which he made no mention of his party’s candidate, Oyebamiji, despite Oyebamiji finishing second in the race.
Neither Keyamo’s office nor the presidency has issued a follow-up statement clarifying what, if any, formal understanding exists between Adeleke and Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election. AfrikTimes will continue to track reactions to the exchange as they develop.
