Aregbesola Woos Oyinlola to ADC Ahead of 2027 Election

The interim National Secretary of the Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, has met with former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola in a bid to persuade him to join the party.
Aregbesola, who succeeded Oyinlola as Osun governor on November 27, 2010, after prolonged litigation following the 2007 gubernatorial poll, visited Oyinlola at his country home in Okuku, Osun State, on Sunday.
Sources present at the meeting, who preferred anonymity, confirmed that Aregbesola urged his predecessor to join the ADC. “He (Aregbesola) visited Oyinlola at Okuku yesterday (Sunday) evening to woo him to the ADC,” a source stated. Oyinlola reportedly “just appreciated him for the visit.”
Pictures of the visit went viral on social media on Monday, prompting widespread speculation among commentators about its implications for both national and Osun State politics.
Since his appointment on July 2, 2025, alongside interim national chairman Senator David Mark, the ADC scribe has been actively mobilising support across the South-West states to attract members into the coalition party.
The ADC, which includes prominent figures like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has publicly vowed to remove President Bola Tinubu from office by 2027.
When contacted, Osun ADC chairman Charles Omidiji confirmed his awareness of the meeting between Aregbesola and Oyinlola. “I’m aware of the meeting. It’s part of politics. I didn’t attend the meeting. I’m currently in Abuja. But politics is a game of numbers,” Omidiji stated.
Omidiji further hinted at potential defections from other parties. “Don’t completely rule out the possibility of big members of PDP moving to APC,” he said, adding, “Many of them are coming. I can tell you for free,” when asked about ADC’s efforts to woo leaders from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Meanwhile, Oyinlola, in a recent interview on Arise TV, alleged that the All Progressives Congress was intimidating the incumbent Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, to defect from the PDP.
“It feels horrible, I would say, but the fact is that there is always enormous pressure from the ruling party on all the elected officers, and that’s what is producing this defection on their part,” Oyinlola stated. He added that for Governor Adeleke, “APC has not fared well with the people of Osun State, and I can say that. Telling him to roll over to the APC will mean ruining his political career because the people will not go along with that. He knows it.”
While confirming the persistence of pressure on the governor, Oyinlola dismissed any personal consideration of defection, asserting himself as “a battle-tested general.” He declared, “No amount of pressure will shake me off my post,” leveraging his experience as a former military administrator, civilian governor, and PDP national secretary.
Oyinlola’s remarks followed a communique from the Osun State PDP, which endorsed Governor Adeleke for the 2026 governorship election and President Bola Tinubu for the 2027 presidency.