A former Special Adviser to the Senate President and public affairs analyst, Kenny Okolugbo, has criticised Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Accord Party ahead of the 2026 governorship election.
Okolugbo said Adeleke would have been better positioned politically had he joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC), arguing that leaving the PDP could cost the governor votes in the forthcoming election.
Adeleke had defected from the PDP to Accord, citing the unresolved leadership crisis within the party’s national structure, which he said had resulted in factional divisions, legal uncertainties and conflicting court judgments.
The governor subsequently joined Accord to provide what he described as a more stable platform for his re-election bid.
However, speaking on Arise TV on Sunday, Okolugbo said the PDP’s presence on the ballot could work against Adeleke by retaining a portion of the party’s traditional supporters.
“People will still vote for the PDP because the party is on the ballot, and he could lose some of those votes,” Okolugbo said.
He added, “If I were him, I would have left the PDP for the ADC because he would have had a greater advantage over the APC. I think he didn’t play that political move well.”
The analyst also criticised the Osun State Government’s response to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of suspicious withdrawals from the state’s accounts.
According to him, the state government should have immediately sought clarification from the anti-graft agency and provided explanations for the transactions that were flagged.
“The President didn’t say what the EFCC had done was wrong. He was clearly saying that the optics were concerning because it was just 10 days to the election,” he said.
“In my opinion, the Osun State Government should have responded by seeking clarification from the EFCC and providing explanations for the withdrawals that had been flagged as suspicious. The governor had said he knew there would be a restriction on the accounts, which suggests he had prior information.”
The Osun State governorship election is scheduled to hold on August 15, 2026, with the Accord Party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) expected to be among the major contenders.
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