Adeleke Has Not Formally Resigned From PDP — Turaki

A factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kabiru Turaki, has stated that the party is yet to receive any official communication from Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, regarding his resignation from the party.

LEADERSHIP earlier reported that Governor Adeleke resigned his membership of the PDP, citing the protracted crisis within the party.

Despite his exit, his name still appeared on the ballot for the party’s governorship primary held on Tuesday in Osogbo, Osun State capital.

At Tuesday’s primary held in Osogbo, Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola, popularly known as Fryo, emerged as the PDP’s governorship candidate for the 2026 Osun election, polling 919 out of 957 votes.

Speaking to journalists after a National Working Committee (NWC) meeting in Abuja, Turaki said Adeleke is constitutionally free to either remain in the party or leave.

“We have seen online a letter said to be from him resigning from our party, but I tell you that we have not, up to this moment, received any formal indication that he has left,” Turaki said.

He noted that Adeleke’s name still featured among aspirants vying for the party’s ticket and said the PDP would rely on reports from its officials at the primary to confirm whether the governor had formally withdrawn from the race.

“As far as we are concerned, even if the letter circulating online is genuine, Governor Adeleke, like any Nigerian, has the freedom to associate as he wishes,” Turaki added.

He stressed that the PDP’s strength lies in its loyal supporters, not elected officials who choose to defect. According to him, previous defections by governors in some states did not weaken the party’s grassroots base.

“Our people have remained with us, and by God’s grace, when elections come, they will show that the PDP is still solid,” he said.

Turaki also disclosed that the NWC had reviewed and approved the congresses conducted in Osun to elect ad hoc delegates, adding that preparations for the Anambra local government election were also progressing well.

He further revealed that former PDP governors nominated by President Bola Tinubu as non-career ambassadors have not communicated with the party.

“If they approach us, we will consider their communication on its merit,” he noted.

On rising insecurity across the country, Turaki urged the federal government to urgently reform Nigeria’s security architecture, insisting that state governors cannot be described as chief security officers when they lack operational control.

“We call on the federal government to brace up and begin a comprehensive review of the security framework in this country,” he said.