Adedamola Adebayo emerges PDP candidate in Osun 2026 governorship primary, overshadowed by factional disputes and violence at the Osogbo venue
Osogbo, Osun State – Adedamola Adebayo emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2026 Osun State governorship election on Tuesday, securing 919 of 957 votes cast in a primary held in Osogbo.
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Governor Ademola Adeleke and several senior state party leaders were notably absent from the exercise.
Humphrey Abba, chairman of the primary election committee, declared the result, noting 20 void votes. Adebayo, who was the remaining candidate after Adeleke’s withdrawal, was returned elected with an overwhelming majority.
The exercise was overshadowed by violence shortly after voting ended, when Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, confronted individuals still at the venue.
During the altercation, a suspected political thug assaulted an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) staff member.
Video footage showed the confrontation escalating as a bus carrying bystanders was intercepted and its occupants assaulted before being taken to the House of Assembly Police Post.
Witnesses, including Wakili Aderemi, a park manager from Ibadan, claimed they were in Osogbo for a union meeting and had no involvement in political activities.
“None of us was having a party tag. We came for a zonal meeting, not a party primary,” he said.
Egbedun accused Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of interference, asserting that PDP members in Osun would not accept external influence.
“If Makinde is desperate to become President in 2027, he should use another state as a tool, not Osun,” he said.
Despite Adeleke resigning from the PDP on December 4, 2025, his name remained on the ballot. Secretary of the primary committee, Sunday Solarin, explained that votes cast for Adeleke would be considered void.
Adeleke cited unresolved crises within the party’s national leadership as his reason for leaving.
The primary commenced at 11:07 am following the arrival of INEC representatives and the PDP national committee amid heavy security from the Department of State Services, police, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Conflicting directives from factional party officials added to the confusion, with one faction insisting the primary proceed while another announced a postponement.
Also read: PDP Postpones NWC Meeting After Secretariat Unrest
INEC has set December 15, 2025, as the deadline for political parties to submit candidates for the August 8, 2026 Osun governorship election.
