Osun PDP senatorial ticket dispute deepens over factional candidacy

A fresh dispute has emerged within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Osun State after a party chieftain, Ibraheem Adekunle, insisted that he remains the party’s validly nominated candidate for the Osun Central Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 general election.

The development followed the announcement by the senator representing Osun Central, Olubiyi Fadeyi, that he had returned to the PDP and had emerged as the party’s candidate for the senatorial district in the forthcoming general election.

Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Friday, Adekunle dismissed the claim and warned against any attempt to substitute his name as the party’s candidate, maintaining that he secured the ticket through a duly conducted PDP primary election.

He stated that he would seek judicial redress if any individual or group attempted to alter his nomination, insisting that the party’s nomination process had already been concluded in accordance with the law.

Adekunle questioned the circumstances surrounding Fadeyi’s alleged return to the PDP, referring to reports that the senator obtained a waiver from the party on May 8 2026 before allegedly participating in the All Progressives Congress, APC, senatorial primary on May 18, 2026.

According to him, “It has been claimed that Senator Olubiyi Fadeyi obtained a waiver from the Peoples Democratic Party on 8 May 2026. However, available records indicate that he subsequently participated in the APC senatorial primary election held on 18 May 2026 for the same office.

“This raises a fundamental question: if he had already become a PDP member through the alleged waiver on 8 May, under what legal or constitutional basis did he purchase APC nomination forms, submit APC nomination documents, undergo APC screening, campaign as an APC aspirant, and eventually participate in the APC primary election ten days later? Political party membership cannot exist in two parties at the same time.”

Adekunle maintained that by the time Fadeyi contested the APC primary election, the PDP had completed its nomination process for the Osun Central Senatorial District and had forwarded his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

He declared, “My name was duly submitted by the PDP to the Independent National Electoral Commission after the primary election and was subsequently uploaded on the Commission’s nomination portal in accordance with the law. I therefore remain the authentic and validly nominated PDP candidate for Osun Central Senatorial District.”

Expressing confidence in the PDP leadership, Adekunle said he trusted the National Working Committee to uphold due process and protect the outcome of the party’s primary election.

“I have absolute confidence in the National Working Committee of our great party and in the leadership of Chief Nyesom Wike. I believe they will uphold the rule of law, respect due process and protect the sanctity of the party’s primary election,” he said.

He warned that he would challenge through lawful means any effort to replace his name as the PDP’s candidate, stating, “I will vigorously defend my mandate and challenge, through every lawful means available, any attempt to unlawfully replace my name with that of any person who did not emerge from the PDP primary election.”