A latent crisis situation has flared up within the Osun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a vote of no confidence was forced on Deputy Governor, Prince Kola Adewusi, a former National Secretary and member of the Party’s Board of Trustees Member, Professor Wale Oladipo, and Hon. Olasunkanmi Makinde (Benco), the Ife East PDP Chairman. The vote occurred at an Ife Federal Constituency meeting of party leaders and stakeholders, hosted by the Osun East senatorial leader on Monday, September 1, 2025 and attended by several aides to Governor Ademola Adeleke.
In a communiqué issued after the meeting, the leaders accused the three party leaders of anti-party activities and working with Hon. Bimbo Ajilesoro, the House of Representatives member for Ife Federal Constituency, who recently defected from the PDP. The leaders expressed distrust towards Ajilesoro for abandoning the mandate given to him by the people, and argued it was troubling that key PDP players in the Ife Federal Constituency continued their close relationship with Ajilesoro.
They also claimed Hon. Makinde invited thugs and hoodlums to disrupt the constituency meeting, which Hon. Makinde said was at the instruction of Prof. Oladipo. The communiqué said loyal PDP members who rejected Ajilesoro’s defection have suffered victimization and were removed from government and party positions, and that party meetings in the Ife East Local Government office had been postponed, supposedly to weaken the PDP in the area.
The leaders said the deputy governor’s, Oladipo’s, and Makinde’s actions represented a clear and present danger to the future of the party in Ifeland, and could affect its preparations for upcoming elections. They therefore resolved to pass a vote of no confidence on the three leaders and requested the state party leadership intervene as soon as possible to safeguard the credibility of the party and restore party discipline.
The development demonstrates clear fault lines opening within the Osun PDP and creates genuine questions over the party having unity and stability as the state prepares for possible elections, including the 2026 governorship elections. Politically aware observers note the party’s internal dispute handling in the next few weeks may determine the party’s electoral fortunes. For Governor Adeleke and his leadership team, dealing with a multiplicity of factions within the party, their job just became that much harder, as they are under pressure to nip this dispute in the bud or risk it getting out of hand.
The latest crisis highlights the routine challenges to party unity in Osun politics, where defections, power plays, and rivalries have primed political outcomes more than possible elections outcomes. The vote of no confidence on the deputy governor and other senior party leaders is expected to open more discussions within the PDP structures of the state from both loyalists and dissenters coming to the fore – as everyone awaits to see how the leadership reacts in the coming days.
