Ibraheem Adekunle has insisted that he remains the Osun Central PDP candidate for the 2027 general election, warning that he will challenge any attempt to replace his name through the courts.
According to Vanguard, Adekunle spoke to journalists in Osogbo on Friday after Senator Olubiyi Fadeyi claimed that he had emerged as the candidate of a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Fadeyi recently left the All Progressives Congress and returned to the PDP. He subsequently laid claim to the Osun Central senatorial ticket, triggering a fresh dispute within the opposition party.
Adekunle, however, maintained that the PDP nominated him through a properly conducted primary election. He said the party completed the process and submitted his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission in line with the Electoral Act.
Adekunle questions Fadeyi’s party membership
The senatorial candidate also questioned the timeline surrounding Fadeyi’s return to the PDP and his participation in the APC primary election.
Adekunle said reports indicated that Fadeyi obtained a PDP waiver on May 8, 2026. However, he alleged that the senator later participated in the APC senatorial primary for the same position on May 18.
He argued that the development raised questions about which political party Fadeyi belonged to during that period.
“If he had already become a PDP member through the alleged waiver on May 8, 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 10 days later?” Adekunle asked.
He added that Nigerian electoral rules do not permit an individual to belong to two political parties at the same time.
“Political party membership cannot exist in two parties at the same time. These are issues that require clear legal explanation,” he said.
Adekunle says PDP completed nomination process
Adekunle maintained that the PDP had already completed its nomination process before Fadeyi contested the APC primary.
He listed the sale of nomination forms, screening of aspirants, conduct of the primary election and declaration of a winner among the stages the party had concluded.
Adekunle said he was the only aspirant who participated in the PDP primary for the senatorial district. He also maintained that the exercise complied with the party’s constitution and Nigeria’s electoral laws.
“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,” he said.
He therefore insisted that he remained the authentic Osun Central PDP candidate and warned party leaders against replacing him with another person.
Adekunle said he would seek legal redress if the party attempted to substitute his name ahead of the 2027 election.
The dispute could deepen divisions within the Osun PDP as both men continue to assert their right to represent the party in the senatorial contest.
