No Rival, No Renewal: The Hidden Risk in Adeleke’s Unchallenged Grip on Osun PDP

 

Governor Ademola Adeleke’s dominance within the Osun State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) looks like a show of strength. He is currently without a challenger for the party’s 2026 governorship ticket, a scenario his loyalists hail as proof of unity and wide acceptance. But beneath this calm lies a dangerous silence. A political party without internal competition risks weakening itself for the future, no matter how strong its present leader appears.

The contrast is clear when we look beyond Nigeria’s shores. In the United States, former President Donald Trump served from 2016 to 2020, lost his re-election bid to Joe Biden, yet returned in 2024 as the Republican frontrunner. Despite his unmatched influence in the party, credible figures like Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy still contested against him. They all knew Trump was the favorite, but by entering the race, they elevated their profiles, tested new ideas, and prepared themselves as future national leaders. The Republican Party, therefore, retained vibrancy, offering its base alternative voices while grooming the next generation.

Osun PDP, in contrast, is sliding into complacency. With Adeleke standing unopposed, no space is created for alternative visions, no platform exists for new aspirants to cut their teeth, and no opportunity arises for the party to stress-test its democratic processes. It gives the impression of a one-man movement, not a broad-based political structure. For a party that must eventually face a post-Adeleke era, this absence of credible internal contenders is a glaring weakness.

History shows that where political structures are built solely around one person, they rarely outlive that leader. In the short run, the strategy keeps factions quiet and minimizes internal fights. But in the long run, it leaves a vacuum. Younger aspirants are denied visibility, the electorate perceives the party as undemocratic, and when the leader inevitably exits, the party struggles to reinvent itself. This is the quiet danger Osun PDP faces if Adeleke remains the only face of its future.

What Osun PDP needs is not an immediate threat to Adeleke’s ticket, but the courage to encourage competition within its ranks. Contestants may lose today, but they build credibility for tomorrow. A healthy primary season strengthens, not weakens, a party. If Adeleke truly loves Osun PDP, he should open the door for credible internal rivalry, not to undermine him, but to secure the party’s renewal. Otherwise, the PDP may find itself strong under Adeleke, but stranded once he is gone.

Abioye Tosin Lawrence is the Publisher of Oriontimes Online Newspaper and the author of the forthcoming memoir, Voices from the Fire: My Journey Through a Hollow Empire.