OSOGBO – Governor Ademola Adeleke on Tuesday officially flagged off his re-election campaign ahead of the August 15, 2026 governorship election, declaring that the Accord Party would remain on the ballot and expressing confidence that he would secure a second term in office. Addressing thousands of supporters, party leaders, defectors and various interest groups at Freedom Park, Osogbo, Adeleke described the campaign as a “divine journey to victory,” assuring party faithful that all lawful measures were being pursued to safeguard their constitutional rights to vote and be voted for. “Accord will be on the ballot; your votes will count; and I will be re-elected as your governor on August 15th,” the governor declared amid cheers from supporters. Adeleke said his administration would not succumb to what he described as “dark forces,” insisting that democracy and the rule of law must prevail in Osun State. The governor also revisited the lingering local government crisis in the state, cong...
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.
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