APC, PDP Clash Over Adeleke’s Comments on Tinubu

A war of words has erupted between the Osun State chapters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after Governor Ademola Adeleke’s comments at the South‑West Stakeholders’ Dialogue in Akure, Ondo State. The APC claims the governor attacked President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of marginalising Osun State and withholding local‑government funds, while the PDP insists no such attack occurred.

According to the APC, Governor Adeleke has repeatedly blamed President Tinubu for his administration’s shortcomings, and the recent Akure summit is a case in point. The party’s Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, said the governor alleged that the federal government was undermining the Constitution by withholding Osun’s local‑government funds despite a standing court order and by marginalising the state in federal dealings. Olabisi also asserted that the president deserves credit for Adeleke’s achievements in education and health, citing various federal interventions in Osun, and accused the governor of mismanaging state resources while shifting blame to the federal government.

The PDP dismissed the APC’s allegations as false and malicious, insisting that Governor Adeleke never attacked President Tinubu at the Akure summit. PDP Director of Media Hezekiah Oladele Bamiji called the APC’s claims a figment of imagination and maintained that the governor’s presentation focused on intergovernmental relations and constitutional issues, not a personal attack on the president. The party added that Adeleke’s remarks were intended to strengthen federal‑state cooperation rather than provoke political tension.

At the summit, Governor Adeleke, represented by his deputy Kola Adewusi, advocated for the protection of sub‑national governments’ rights as a deliberate strategy to deepen democratic practices. He emphasized that party differences should not justify unfair treatment of any sub‑national government and that collaboration for development should be the norm. The exchange highlights ongoing tensions between state and federal authorities, with the PDP urging the public to disregard the opposition’s alleged falsehoods. The debate continues, and its implications for state‑federal relations remain to be seen.