Oyetola and Adeleke: Is a Political Alliance Finally on the Horizon?

In October 2026, Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun was named the state coordinator of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 campaign, replacing Gboyega Oyetola, his rival of eight years and now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy. Hence the talk of an alliance, even though their history is bitter.

Oyetola, of the APC, beat Adeleke, then of the PDP, in a disputed 2018 rerun by 255,505 votes to 255,023, and the Supreme Court upheld it. Adeleke won the 2022 rematch 403,371 to 375,027, and the Supreme Court affirmed that too.In August 2026, Adeleke, now in the Accord Party after leaving the PDP, won a second term with 511,067 votes against 444,815 for the APC’s Bola Oyebamiji, whom Oyetola backed. Adeleke had said Oyetola stayed off the ballot out of fear and used a proxy.

The hostility ran into 2026. In February, Adeleke told Oyetola to behave or have his sordid past and present exposed, and the two fought over control of local councils after an Appeal Court ruling. Then the tone shifted: Adeleke praised Oyetola on his 72nd birthday this month.

Adeleke has said he will work with Oyetola and Oyebamiji so long as it serves Tinubu. On the council dispute, Tinubu has reportedly stepped in with a committee to broker peace between Adeleke and the APC.

What the record does not show is any agreement between the two men. Working for the same presidential candidate is not a pact over Osun’s politics, and no reaction from Oyetola to losing the role to his rival has been reported.

The arrangement tests both men’s followers. Accord supporters must accept their governor coordinating a campaign for the party that fought him in August, and APC loyalists must accept a former opponent in a post Oyetola once held. Whether this stays a campaign arrangement will show first in the council dispute, where Tinubu’s committee is meant to produce a settlement.