Wike: Adeleke Now Part of Tinubu’s National Rainbow Coalition 

.Adeleke won’t join APC, will work with FG, says campaign spokesman

.Osun poll: lawyers give INEC, police seven-day ultimatum to probe alleged inciting statements, killings

Olawale Ajimotokan and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja 

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, said the visit of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke to President Bola Tinubu was part of a plan to build a larger Rainbow Coalition in support of the aspiration of the President in the 2027 election.

Wike stated this yesterday in Abuja during an inspection of the IBB International Golf and Country Club that was ongoing renovation.

However, the spokesperson for the Ademola Adeleke Campaign Council, Pelumi Olajengbesi, has dismissed speculation that Governor Adeleke may defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the governor’s recent meeting with President Bola Tinubu was a courtesy visit and not a prelude to changing political allegiance.

He said although Adeleke was in another political party, Wike dismissed claims by rival factions regarding the newly re-elected governor’s platform strategy, noting that while Adeleke ran on the Accord Party platform due to internal wranglings within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he remains deeply rooted in the PDP structure and is now fully committed to supporting Tinubu ahead of 2027.

Wike said, “l don’t know what you call opposition as far as there is no opposition now. Adeleke is only… You remember PDP, you realise that. But because of internal wranglings, and for him to be able to secure a ticket to run for the second term, he had to find a platform, and that platform happened to be Accord Party. But he’s a member of the Peoples Democratic Party.

“And what happened last night (Thursday) is meeting to rebuild a larger Rainbow Coalition. And he is supporting Mr. President. He’s in a different party; I’m supporting Mr. President, and I’m in a different party. So, it’s a larger Rainbow Coalition. I told you that the 2027 election will be the easiest election. All those ADC who are talking about ‘Oh, they helped Adeleke to win,’ they just wanted to go and harvest where they never planted, you know.

“So, Adeleke is fully supporting Mr. President. And so, we had to meet last night and encourage ourselves to continue. And the next few weeks, watch what is going to happen. You will see a larger Rainbow Coalition in this country.”

The also reiterated that his strategy was to keep political rivals like Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, off-balance, adding that their discomfort over these political realignments gives him no concern.

 “I have told you—when you say “leading opposition” that there’s no opposition. What you have are people who are just trying to see whether they can be relevant. Who is the opposition leader now, who? Ordinarily, it should have been PDP, but because of the crisis we’ve had, and so you can’t see a formidable party that you will call the leading opposition party. So, I don’t care. Whatever—whatever they feel is not my business. I don’t want them to feel well. It’s not my wish that they should feel well. My business is to make them not feel well all the time.

“If they are having high blood pressures, yes, that’s my job—to make them have high blood pressure. Your business is to make sure that you beat him thoroughly, so that he will be sick all through. And that’s what we are doing to them. So, how Atiku feels, how Obi feels, ah, it does not give me any headache. In fact, if I know now how they feel, I will add more crises for them. So, that’s my position.”

Wike also reaffirmed that the President has directed that the rehabilitation of IBB International Golf and Country Club be completed and the facility reopened to the public in December.

Meanwhile, Olajengbesi who spoke with journalists in Abuja yesterday, said Adeleke remained committed to the Accord Party but would work with the federal government to advance the interests of Osun State and Nigeria.

His clarification came amid growing speculation over the governor’s political future following his separate visits to Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Wike, in Abuja after his victory in the recent Osun State governorship election.

According to him, Adeleke’s visit to the President was in keeping with the principles of Nigeria’s federal system and was intended to demonstrate respect for the office of the President.

“The visit of Governor Ademola Adeleke to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the proper thing to do. It is the norm; it is the standard.

“We all agree that Nigeria is a federation. We have three tiers of government — the federal government, the state government and, of course, the local government.

“Osun State is a sub-nation now under the Nigerian government, and we don’t intend to take Osun State out of Nigeria. So we understand, and I think the governor deemed it necessary to pay a courtesy call to Mr. President as a sign of respect to the office of the President,” Olajengbesi said.

He added that Adeleke used the meeting to commend Tinubu for allowing democratic institutions to function during the governorship election, which, he said, gave Osun voters the opportunity to freely express their choice.

The campaign spokesman said the governor also urged the President to support measures aimed at strengthening democratic institutions and preventing their manipulation by political actors.

He said the meeting was also an opportunity for the governor to promote reconciliation and healing in the state following a tense election.

“The visit of Mr. Governor to Mr. President is not taking the people of Osun State for granted, but the intention is to amplify the aspiration of the people of Osun State,” he said.

Olajengbesi stressed that Adeleke’s victory was primarily the result of the support of Osun voters, rather than the backing of another political party.

He said the governor’s administration had earned public support through its interventions in infrastructure, welfare and other areas of governance.

“The election is about the people coming out en masse to support a governor who has diligently worked for them.

“If you look at the records of Governor Ademola Adeleke, you look at infrastructural development, you look at his intervention in terms of welfare and the needs of people. We have never had a governor before who has prioritised the welfare of the people, who have been so selfless like Governor Ademola Adeleke,” he said.

He was, however, categorical that the governor had no intention of joining the APC.

“The essence of that visit has nothing to do with Governor Ademola Adeleke joining APC. It’s an impossibility. Governor Ademola Adeleke is not joining APC.

“But I can assure you that Governor Ademola Adeleke will work with the Federal Government to ensure that there’s progress in Nigeria and, of course, in Osun State,” Olajengbesi said.

He also dismissed reports that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) collaborated with Adeleke’s campaign during the election.

According to him, Adeleke’s campaign did not seek the support of any political party and remained focused on its own political structure.

“ADC did not reach out to us. We are not interested in collaborating with any political party,” he said.

Olajengbesi said the ADC’s deployment of prominent politicians to Osun during the election did not determine the outcome, insisting that Adeleke won through the backing of the electorate.

His comments came against the backdrop of fresh concerns over the conduct of the election, particularly allegations of inflammatory statements, voter intimidation and politically motivated violence.

The Coalition of Public Interest Lawyers and Advocates (COPA), in a separate development yesterday, gave the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigeria Police Force a seven-day ultimatum to investigate alleged inciting statements and killings linked to the Osun governorship election.

The National Coordinator of COPA, Ajibola Bello, told journalists in Abuja that the allegations could not be swept aside simply because the election had been concluded.

He said the coalition had reviewed videos allegedly showing political actors threatening opponents, discouraging citizens from voting and, in one instance, calling for the killing of members of an opposition political party.

Bello said COPA was particularly concerned that violence subsequently occurred in some communities where some of the alleged statements were made or directed, with several persons reportedly killed.

He stressed that the conclusion of an election could not extinguish criminal liability where credible evidence existed of offences committed before or during the poll.

The coalition cited a video allegedly attributed to a leading figure in the APC governorship campaign in which the speaker was said to have warned political opponents in Yoruba against acting contrary to the interests of President Tinubu.

Bello said the statement, which he said was made at the beginning of the campaign, was followed by political violence in Esa-Oke, including the killing of a resident.

He, however, cautioned that COPA was not concluding that the statement alone established criminal responsibility for any subsequent killing.

“That determination belongs to investigators and ultimately the courts,” he said, insisting that the allegation and the violence that followed warranted a thorough and impartial investigation.

The lawyers also raised concerns over another video allegedly showing a serving senator calling on supporters to kill members of the Accord Party.

Bello described the allegation as grave, particularly because the person involved was a serving member of the National Assembly.

He said the alleged statement was followed by serious political violence in Ilesa and surrounding communities, where more than nine people were reportedly killed.

“Where a serving Senator is recorded allegedly telling supporters to kill members of an opposing political party, and people subsequently lose their lives in election-related violence, the institutions established by law cannot simply look away,” Bello said.

He stressed that the coalition was not asking the authorities to pronounce anyone guilty, but to investigate the allegations and prosecute where the evidence met the required legal threshold.

COPA also cited another video allegedly involving Francis Eniade, who was purportedly heard warning non-APC members against coming out to vote and specifically mentioning the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun.

Bello argued that no political actor had the authority to determine who could exercise the constitutional right to vote.

He said threats, intimidation and attempts to prevent citizens from voting because of their political affiliation constituted serious threats to democratic governance and potentially violated provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 and other applicable laws.

Bello specifically challenged INEC to exercise its statutory responsibilities in dealing with electoral offences, citing Section 148(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, which provides for the prosecution of offences under the Act by legal officers of INEC or legal practitioners appointed by the commission.

He urged the electoral body not to leave the matter entirely to the police and other security agencies.

The coalition asked the police and relevant security agencies to authenticate the videos, identify and interview those involved, question witnesses and establish the circumstances surrounding the reported killings and other acts of violence.

It further demanded that investigation files be forwarded for prosecution where sufficient evidence was established.

“There can therefore be no institutional buck-passing,” Bello said.

COPA also expressed concern over allegations that political affiliation could be shielding some suspects from investigation or prosecution.

Bello challenged INEC and the police to disprove such allegations through impartial enforcement of the law.

“The easiest way to disprove an allegation of selective justice is to enforce the law without fear or favour,” he said.

The coalition consequently demanded that INEC exercise its prosecutorial powers under Section 148 of the Electoral Act 2026 and ensure that anyone against whom sufficient evidence of an offence exists is brought before a competent court.

“We are demanding investigation, prosecution where the evidence meets the legal threshold, and determination of guilt or innocence by a court of competent jurisdiction,” Bello said.

The two developments have placed renewed focus on the political aftermath of the Osun election, with Adeleke’s camp seeking to project a posture of cooperation with the federal government while rejecting speculation of an APC defection, even as civil society lawyers demand accountability over alleged electoral violence and inflammatory political statements.