The African Democratic Congress (ADC) 2027 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, alongside the party’s National Leader, David Mark, is currently in Osun State to attend the party’s final campaign rally ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election.
NEWSNGR reports that Atiku and Mark departed Abuja on Monday as the party intensifies its campaign ahead of the poll.
Osun State gubernatorial election has Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Najeem Salam of the ADC as the major contenders.
Najeem Salam, the ADC candidate, served as Speaker from 2011 to 2015 and was re-elected in 2017, where he served til 2019.
Meanwhile, a former Special Adviser to the Senate President and public affairs analyst, Kenny Okolugbo, has criticised Adeleke’s decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Accord Party, saying the move could weaken his re-election chances.
Recall that Adeleke had left the PDP amid prolonged internal leadership disputes, factional divisions and conflicting legal claims within the party.
He subsequently joined Accord as part of preparations for his second-term bid.
Speaking on Arise Television on Sunday, Okolugbo argued that the governor risked losing votes from traditional PDP supporters because the party would still appear on the ballot.
“People will still vote for the PDP because the party is on the ballot, and he could lose some of those votes,” he said.
Okolugbo said Adeleke might have enjoyed a stronger political advantage if he had defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) instead.
