By Governor Ademola Adeleke’s campaign organisation has moved to shut down speculation that his Thursday visit to President Bola Tinubu signalled plans to defect from the Accord Party to the APC, describing the trip as a routine courtesy call rather than a political manoeuvre.
In a statement issued Friday, the Imole Campaign Council said the visit followed long-standing custom in Nigerian politics, under which governors who win off-cycle elections pay their respects to the presidency once the process concludes. The council, chaired by Rep. Bamidele Salam as head of its Media and Publicity Committee, said Adeleke’s gesture was owed to Tinubu specifically because of the President’s repeated pre-election calls for INEC and security agencies to ensure a free and fair contest in Osun State.
Beyond protocol, the council said the meeting gave both men room to discuss peace, security and the state’s path forward following what it described as a tense election season.
Addressing the speculation directly, TICC said the presence of Adeleke and senior members of his campaign team at the Villa had, in its words, “absolutely nothing to do with a plan to move from Accord to the All Progressives Congress,” and stated unequivocally that the question of decamping was not raised at any point during the visit.
The council closed by thanking Tinubu for receiving the governor and reaffirming what it called Adeleke’s continued commitment to serving Osun State residents who backed him in the recently concluded election.
The clarification follows days of online speculation, fuelled partly by Adeleke’s own public backing of Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid and by commentary from figures such as Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo, whose “agreement is agreement” remark after the election drew a separate denial from the same campaign council. Adeleke has previously dismissed defection talk directly, telling Channels Television that returning to the APC was “not on my agenda.”
