President Bola Tinubu on Thursday held a closed-door meeting with Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, barely five days after the governor secured a second term in office.
Adeleke arrived at the State House at about 5:20 p.m. and was driven through the forecourt route to the President’s Office, where he proceeded directly into the meeting with Tinubu.
The closed-door engagement immediately attracted political interest because of its timing, coming shortly after Adeleke’s victory in the August 15 Osun governorship election.
The details of the discussion were not immediately available as of press time.
Also seen at the State House was the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, who led some other party leaders across the corridor around the time of the meeting.
It was not immediately clear whether Bashiru and the other APC officials were at the Villa to join the President and Adeleke or for a separate engagement.
Adeleke, who contested the governorship election on the platform of the Accord Party, was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission after defeating the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
According to the results announced by INEC, Adeleke polled 511,067 votes, while Oyebamiji recorded 444,815 votes, giving the incumbent governor a winning margin of 66,252 votes.
The result also showed the spread of the contest across the state, with Adeleke winning 19 of Osun’s 30 local government areas. Oyebamiji secured victory in the remaining 11 local government areas.
The outcome handed Adeleke another four-year mandate and further shaped the political calculations in a state where the contest between the major political forces has remained closely watched.
Adeleke’s decision to seek re-election on the Accord platform had itself been a significant development in the run-up to the poll. The Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party had adopted his candidacy and directed its structures to support his bid for another term.
His emergence on the Accord ticket, while retaining the support of the state PDP structure, added another dimension to the election and the political configuration of Osun.
