Once the trusted foot soldier in Bola Tinubu’s political military, Rauf Aregbesola is again on a special battlefield, and this time, he’s serving to to construct an opposition military.
For years, the previous Osun governor was thought to be one in every of Tinubu’s most loyal political associates. A vibrant, fiery and fiercely grassroots politician whose rise by way of the progressive motion carried him from Osun’s political trenches to the federal cupboard as Minister of Interior.
But the political winds have shifted.
Today, Aregbesola occupies a really totally different nook of the political chessboard. As National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), he’s not working from throughout the All Progressives Congress (APC) household that when gave him nationwide prominence. He is now a part of an opposition coalition positioning itself for the nice political contest of 2027.
And that transformation has added a scrumptious layer of intrigue to the politics of the South-west.
The journey from loyal lieutenant to opposition strategist didn’t occur in a single day. His political relationship with the Tinubu camp had turn into more and more strained, notably across the politics of Osun and the APC’s inner affairs. By the time Aregbesola overtly aligned himself with the ADC, what had as soon as been an influential political partnership had turn into a distinctly totally different political equation.
His stance grew to become extra obvious in the course of the 2026 Osun governorship election, when Aregbesola threw his political weight behind the ADC candidate, Najeem Salaam. The consequence, nonetheless, was removed from the breakthrough the opposition platform had hoped for. The ADC completed third, whereas even Aregbesola’s personal polling unit went to the APC.
For a politician whose political mythology has all the time been tied to grassroots mobilisation, the symbolism was inconceivable to overlook. Yet Aregbesola, characteristically, didn’t retreat into silence. Instead, he congratulated Governor Ademola Adeleke on his re-election, acknowledging the decision of the voters.
Now, with 2027 beckoning, the person who as soon as stood proudly in President Tinubu’s political camp seems able to throw warning to the wind. He has positioned himself on the alternative facet of the barricade, setting the stage for what might turn into a captivating political showdown to be witnessed.
