Former Deputy Governor of Osun State and ex‑National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Iyiola Omisore, has stirred political debate with a candid message to Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, amid speculations about Adeleke’s alleged moves to join the APC.
Speaking during a recent interview on Channels Television, Omisore described the move as unusual and unnecessary, questioning why a sitting governor would try to force his way into another political party despite having his own political strength.
“As a governor, if you have a problem in your party and you’re popular enough, go and take a new party. Look at Gov. Orji Kalu in 2007; he went for PPA, and he won for that state,” Omisore said.
He pointed to history to drive home his point, recalling how Orji Uzor Kalu, then Governor of Abia State, left the ruling party in 2007, floated the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), and still emerged victorious.
Omisore also referenced a more recent example:
“The governor of Abia now, he left APC, took a new party, and won for that place,” he added.
According to Omisore, political leadership should be built on conviction, not desperation, and no sitting governor should have to beg for entry into another party.
“Why must you want to force yourself to go to a party? I’ve never seen a governor begging to enter a party in my life,” he said.
His remarks, urging Adeleke to chart his own path like Orji Kalu and others, have fueled fresh conversations about political realignments and the independence of sitting governors in Nigeria’s political landscape.
