Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has moved to shut down speculation that his public endorsement of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid was the product of a behind-the-scenes political pact, insisting instead that his support was a matter of principle rather than negotiation.
“No, I never reached an agreement with Mr. President,” Adeleke told Channels Television in an interview on Sunday, shortly after being declared winner of Saturday’s Osun State governorship election.
The governor, who secured a second term with 511,067 votes, was responding directly to questions about whether a political understanding underpinned his re-election victory and his subsequent declaration of loyalty to the president ahead of 2027.
The denial comes amid heightened scrutiny of the unusually warm relationship between Adeleke, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, and Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Despite belonging to opposing political parties, the two men have maintained a cordial relationship, with Adeleke making notable visits to the President and Tinubu reciprocating the engagement, an arrangement that has long fuelled talk in Nigerian political circles of an unofficial alliance.
That speculation intensified after Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo publicly thanked Adeleke for his “unequivocal endorsement” of Tinubu, remarking pointedly that “agreement is agreement.”
The comment appeared to suggest a quid pro quo: Adeleke’s governorship victory in exchange for his political backing, a framing the governor and his camp have firmly rejected.
The Imole Campaign Council, Adeleke’s political vehicle, had earlier issued a statement denying that his endorsement of Tinubu was connected to any political bargain, with spokesperson Pelumi Olajengbesi maintaining that the governor’s support was driven purely by his assessment of Tinubu’s performance and economic reforms.
Explaining his reasoning, Adeleke framed his support in regional and developmental terms rather than personal politics: his backing was based on the fact that Tinubu is “a Yoruba man” from the Southwest and that he wanted to encourage the president not to overlook the region as he continued rolling out federal road projects.
He further argued that having given a Yoruba man the first term, the region should consider granting Tinubu a second chance to develop his reforms.
Pushing back against suggestions of transactional politics, Adeleke was emphatic: “A lot of people feel like it’s because of politics; maybe I want him to support me. No, it is my work that people look on for them to support me,” he said, adding that he does not “play games” in his political dealings.
The governor also signalled his readiness to work across party lines in service of Tinubu’s re-election, saying he had no objections to collaborating with APC figures, including his own gubernatorial rival, Bola Oyebamiji, and former Osun governor Gboyega Oyetola, “as long as it’s for Mr President.” He committed to actively participating in the 2027 campaign whenever called upon.
In Nigeria’s fluid political landscape, where cross-party alliances often precede formal defections, Adeleke’s studied insistence that “no agreement” exists may do little to dispel perceptions of a tacit understanding between Osogbo and Aso Rock, perceptions his repeated, almost rehearsed denials seem, paradoxically, to keep alive.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Governor Adeleke firmly denies any political deal with President Tinubu, framing his 2027 endorsement as based on regional pride and performance, not a quid pro quo tied to his own re-election.
Yet the optics tell a more complicated story: a PDP governor openly campaigning for an APC president, cordial visits between the two, and a minister publicly hinting “agreement is agreement.”
The key takeaway is this, regardless of Adeleke’s denials, the unusually close Adeleke-Tinubu relationship is real and consequential, and it signals the kind of cross-party alignment that often reshapes Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of major elections.
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