Osogbo, Osun State — Fresh tensions have surfaced within the Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as rival factions publicly clash over the party’s leadership structure and political direction ahead of the forthcoming governorship election.
At the centre of the dispute is the status of the state chairman, Sunday Bisi, who has firmly rejected claims that he has been removed from office by a stakeholders’ forum.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Thursday, Bisi described the announcement of his purported removal as unconstitutional and without legal effect, insisting that he remains the duly elected chairman of the party in the state.
“The forum lacks the legal powers or mandate to remove or tamper with the elected structures of the party. I remain the chairman,” Bisi stated.
He maintained that only properly constituted organs of the party, acting within the provisions of the PDP constitution, possess the authority to take decisions affecting elected officials.
Bisi further disclosed that the PDP in Osun had not fielded a candidate for the August governorship election, adding that the party had instead endorsed Governor Ademola Adeleke for re-election.
“As the PDP has no candidate for the August gubernatorial election, the party has endorsed Governor Ademola Adeleke for re-election. That is the fact of the situation,” he said.
While acknowledging internal tensions, Bisi noted that most elected officials in the state remain members of the PDP.
“Our elected officials, minus the governor and the deputy governor, remain in PDP. Our party has no candidate and we have accordingly endorsed Governor Adeleke,” he added.
The chairman also criticised remarks attributed to former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, describing them as inconsistent with what he termed the mainstream structure of the party in the state.
“The statement credited to former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola is an open betrayal and a continuation of a failed 2022 plot to stop Governor Adeleke,” Bisi alleged.
He attributed the current uncertainties to internal divisions at the national level of the PDP, which he said had created concerns about the governor’s political future and necessitated strategic decisions.
“The division within the PDP national leadership threatened the candidacy of our governor. The right thing was done by the governor to seek a platform for re-election. Prince Oyinlola was even the first to make this suggestion,” Bisi stated.
He insisted that the core leadership and membership base of the party in Osun remain aligned with the current state executive.
“The mainstream of Osun PDP stands by the governor, by our leadership and by our elected mandate as state officers which cannot be truncated by any unelected, illegal and unauthorised group,” he said.
Earlier, at a separate stakeholders’ meeting in Osogbo, Prince Oyinlola maintained that the PDP remains a viable political force in the state despite reports of Governor Adeleke’s defection to the Accord Party.
According to Oyinlola, the meeting was convened to clarify the party’s position amid what he described as confusing narratives surrounding developments at both the national and state levels.
“There have been some confusing narratives being pushed out about the status of PDP, especially in Osun State. What we have done today is to narrate situations as they are to our members, so that the entire wards and local governments in Osun will know exactly where PDP stands today in Osun State,” he said.
Responding to claims that the PDP structure in Osun had been collapsed into the Accord Party to facilitate Adeleke’s re-election, Oyinlola dismissed the suggestion.
“PDP is a party that has its tentacles in all the nooks and crannies of this country. It is not in our own time that we will allow it to die,” he said.
He added that the party remains open to future developments.
“We are holding on to PDP. If tomorrow, our governor decides to come back and be with his family in PDP, he is most welcome. But for now, PDP is standing in Osun State strongly,” Oyinlola stated.
The unfolding developments underscore deepening divisions within the Osun PDP as political realignments gather momentum ahead of the governorship poll.
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