Olawale Rasheed, the Spokesperson to Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, has rubbished a report that his principal made several effort to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Describing the report as “fake news from the pit of hell," Rasheed attributed the report to the Osun State Chapter of the APC.

He said the opposition opted for the report due to its challenge of who to field against Adeleke in 2026, having noticed the futility of fielding former governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.

The spokesman said the APC is "confused over the cantankerous nature of Senator Ajibola Bashiru and in disarray over the featherweight, Oyebamiji from Ikirre whose traditional leaders have endorsed a second term bid for Governor Adeleke."

He said by the fake reports, the opposition is indirectly preparing for the possibility and eventuality of a second term win for Adeleke.

He said, “I will put on record that Governor Adeleke has never at any time hosted any meeting on defection either within or outside the country. A very popular governor with over 85 percent approval rating is the doyen of all stakeholders at sub-national and federal levels. Recent report confirmed that the state APC under the former governor has lost more than 65 percent of its followership to the PDP because of the governor’s acclaimed superlative performance."

He said Adeleke enjoys the confidence of the Presidency and top federal officials because he concentrates on good governance delivery and patriotic collaboration with the Federal Government on federal-national programmes.

He said the governor is also a passionate believer that President Bola Tinubu must succeed in his efforts to reform the national economy for several reasons, adding that Tinubu's success is the success of all Yoruba sons and daughters as well as of all patriotic Nigerians.

"There is however no plan whatsoever by the Governor to defect to the APC. We pity the APC for its crisis of unelectability. It is apparent that Governor Adeleke is unbeatable, hence there is a crisis of electoral strategy within Osun APC.That crisis within the opposition will get more compounded if the Osun APC continues on the path of fake news and concerted falsehood

"It is not wrong neither is it bad if the Osun APC can simply abandon futile efforts of fielding a candidate in 2026. As the former governor cannot beat Governor Adeleke, neither Senator Bashiru nor Oyebamiji can scratch the solid re- election assurance of the incumbent," he concluded.