Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke formally backed President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid on Friday, linking the endorsement to road projects, Yoruba solidarity and what he called the development needs of Osun and the wider South-West.
Adeleke made the declaration after inspecting ongoing work on the Ibadan-Ile Ife-Ilesa expressway. He described Tinubu as “our own son, father and leader” and said he felt privileged, alongside Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to have “an illustrious son of the Yoruba stock at the helm of national affairs.”
The governor cast the support as a moral choice, not a political bargain. “As governor of the ancestral birthplace of Mr President, how can I have my own in the saddle and think twice before embracing him?” he said, adding that the decision was in the best interest of Osun State and the Yoruba people. He also said his government had rehabilitated several federal roads since 2022 and had reconstructed more than 300 kilometres of state roads in the same period.
Adeleke’s remarks came against a backdrop of unfinished and newly approved infrastructure work across Osun. He praised Tinubu for approving the Ibadan-Iwo-Osogbo and Gbongan-Akoda roads, and said he would seek approval for the reconstruction of the Osogbo-Ilesa road. He also said the federal government should soon refund Osun for federal roads the state has repaired.
The endorsement sits squarely inside that infrastructure dispute and cooperation. Adeleke framed his support as rooted in gratitude for federal approvals and in a broader Yoruba political solidarity, while still making clear that Osun expects compensation for money spent fixing federal roads.
He also paired the political backing with a pledge on the vote. “With God and people, democracy shall triumph on August 15. President has repeatedly advocated free and fair elections,” he said. Adeleke added that his government would “deploy all means within the law to ensure free and fair election on August 15 and beyond,” saying he believed the president “meant well for Osun state.”
The timing gives the endorsement its weight. Adeleke chose to make the declaration immediately after a public inspection of a major road project, turning a development tour into a clear show of political alignment. With that, the question raised by his comments is answered plainly: he is not hedging on Tinubu’s 2027 bid. He is backing it, and he is doing so in public, with roads, identity and the coming election all tied together.
