Osun 2026: Olugbenga Adebayo emerges PDP gov’ship candidate after Adeleke’s exit

…as Speaker’s entourage allegedly attacks INEC officials

The National Working Committee of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to Governor Seyi Makinde has declared Olugbenga Adebayo as the winner of the party’s 2025 governorship primary election in Osun State.

Amid an internal crisis in the PDP’s national leadership, the party held its gubernatorial primary election on Tuesday in Osogbo, the state capital, although the election had originally been scheduled to be held at a different venue for undisclosed reasons.

Announcing the result, the Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Humphrey Abba, stated that Adebayo secured 919 votes out of 957 accredited voters.

Abba said that the accreditation of delegates from the 31 Local Government Areas, including Modakeke Area Office, began around 11:00 a.m., with 957 delegates fully accredited out of the 990 expected to participate in the primary election.

The party’s primary governorship election was held amidst tight security.

However, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke’s resignation from the PDP comes less than 24 hours before the party’s governorship primary election.

Adeleke’s decision was communicated in a letter which surfaced in the early hours of Tuesday but was dated November 4, 2025.

According to the letter, “I thank the People’s Democratic Party for the opportunities given to me for my elections as a Senator (Represented Osun West) and as Governor of Osun State under the People’s Democratic Party.”

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Wale Egbedun, led some lawmakers and their aides to the PDP primaries venue after the electoral committee had concluded the exercise successfully.

Egbedun, his deputy, Akinyode Oyewusi, and other lawmakers with their aides kicked against the exercise after the winner of the primary had been declared.

According to a video obtained by NewsDirect, some aides of the Assembly members were seen assaulting INEC officials and other members of the party.

Speaking with newsmen at the venue of the PDP primary, Egbedun warned Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, against using Osun State as a ladder for his presidential ambition.

Egbedun said, “I am the Speaker of Osun, I am a leader in my state and in the PDP. We were on the floor of the house when we received calls that some people were here (Adolak) all the way from Oyo State to come, just to have a vote that we call a drama.

“I am a leader of PDP and a bona fide member of the Party. I used the PDP ticket to win my election in 2023. So it’s very strange to see videos of people calling themselves PDP members. I could remember that there was a message that there was going to be a Congress. We were waiting for them and we received another message that the Congress has been postponed.

“This is a message to Governor Seyi Makinde: if he is desperate to become President come 2027, he should use another state as a tool, not Osun State. We are bona fide PDP members, we have 25 House of Assembly members, 5 Rep members, and senators.

“For a governor from another state to come to our state to dictate to us, we won’t take that. This is a message to everybody that we won’t take this anymore. They came here to do what I can call a drama and this will be the end of it.

“We do not have any notifications whatsoever from any office. I am the Speaker, and a governor from another state will come to dictate to us, we won’t take that. We will have a meeting and decide on what to do,” he said.

Similarly, a team of men who identified themselves as officials of Oyo Park Management were confronted by the lawmakers’ entourage, assaulted and bundled back into an 18-seater bus, and taken to a police post within the premises of the Osun State House of Assembly Complex.

Speaking on behalf of others, Wakeel Akinremi said that they came to Osun State, Osogbo, for a zonal meeting of the Transport Union, not the PDP governorship primary election.

They identified themselves with their Park Management officials’ cards from Oyo State.