Politics
Osun 2026: Oke Backs Oyetola, Basiru Pledges Loyalty To Tinubu’s Choice
setting the stage for an intense showdown with the PDP once again
Osun 2026: Oke Endorses Oyetola, Basiru Pledges Loyalty To Tinubu’s Choice
The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, has said he will fully abide by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision on who becomes the party’s gubernatorial candidate for the Osun 2026 election.
Basiru, considered the most visible APC aspirant ahead of the November 2026 governorship race, made his position known via a Facebook post on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
He wrote: “Notwithstanding that I may be nurturing an ambition to be Governor of Osun State, whatever President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, says stands on the issue of the Osun 2026 election.”
His statement is seen by many as a strategic move to align with the President’s influence within the party and ease internal tension over the party’s ticket.
Meanwhile, Honourable Wole Oke, a long-serving member of the House of Representatives, has publicly declared support for former governor Gboyega Oyetola as his preferred APC gubernatorial candidate.
Oke, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC, posted on his Facebook page on Friday, July 11, 2025: “Osun 2026 APC Gubernatorial Candidate: I have made my choice. My choice is Asiwaju Gboyega Oyetola. Case closed.”
He added: “Let’s have a rematch against the PDP.”
This statement contradicts his earlier claim that the PDP would not be on the ballot in the 2026 election. It also raises questions about his shifting stance, as he had previously suggested that Governor Ademola Adeleke — who is seeking a second term — was on the verge of defecting to the APC.
Adeleke, who narrowly defeated Oyetola in the 2022 governorship election, is expected to be the PDP’s flag bearer once again. That contest had seen Oyetola, then the sitting governor, lose his bid for a second term under the APC platform.
With Basiru pledging to support President Tinubu’s eventual choice and Oke throwing his weight behind Oyetola, the battle for the APC ticket in Osun appears to be narrowing — setting the stage for an intense showdown with the PDP once again.
