By Ayo Kehinde
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has refuted reports claiming it has picked a governorship candidate for the 2026 elections in Osun State, insisting that the party is still strictly following its outlined procedures for the primary election.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Bolaji Abdullahi, clarified on Wednesday amid growing speculation and viral posts suggesting that the party had endorsed a particular aspirant ahead of the primaries.
He explained that the ADC had already released and widely publicised its timetable and guidelines for the conduct of the governorship primaries, urging all aspirants and supporters to adhere strictly to the laid-down process.
“The African Democratic Congress would like to affirm our earlier statement that videos and social media posts claiming that the party has picked a candidate are false and should be disregarded. For the purpose of conducting the primaries to elect our flag bearer for the 2026 governorship election in Osun, a timetable has been released and widely publicised. All aspirants are urged to adhere strictly to the guidelines”, Abdullahi said.
Reinforcing the party’s stance, Abdullahi noted that the ADC remains committed to upholding the highest standards of internal democracy through a free, fair and transparent electoral process.
In Osun State, the party’s chapter had earlier dismissed claims that former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Dr Najeem Salam, had been adopted as the ADC’s governorship candidate.
Comrade Ekundayo Olatunde, Secretary of the Isokan Group within the Osun ADC, urged the public to disregard the claim, describing it as “false, misleading and far from the truth”.
“As at the time of the press release, the Osun ADC has not held its gubernatorial primary election, deeming any contrary claims as fallacious. Nobody has adopted Salam. The purported endorsement is false and misleading”, he said.
Olatunde also condemned an online report that had circulated the claim, noting that it generated “significant uproar, disbelief, and disaffection” among party members. He explained that the controversial claim originated from only one of the three blocs that make up the party in the state.
“For the benefit of the general public, ADC is a coalition of political interests nationwide. In Osun State, ADC includes members from the PDP (known as ‘Isokan’), APC (known as ‘Omoluabi’), and original ADC members,” he clarified, stressing that the party is not owned by any single individual or group.
Both the national and state leadership of the ADC called on members and the public to rely solely on official communications and reiterated their commitment to a transparent and democratic candidate selection process ahead of the 2026 governorship race.
