Adebayo Adelabu, former minister of power, has dismissed claims that Bola Ahmed Tinubu has endorsed any aspirant ahead of the 2027 governorship election in Oyo state, insisting the president is neutral.
Speaking in Ibadan shortly after resigning from the federal cabinet, Adelabu said rumours of a preferred candidate are false, stressing his close relationship with Tinubu.
“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, president of the federal Republic of Nigeria with 36 states, 774 local governments and almost 9,000 wards… he will not endorse or have special interest in anybody,” he said.
“Of course, in the last two, three weeks, there have been rumours that Asiwaju has endorsed someone else. But it is all a lie. I am his son. If he has such a plan, he would have told me.”
Adelabu, who recently stepped down as minister, said his decision was solely to pursue his long-standing ambition to govern Oyo state under the APC.
“The singular reason for my resignation is to come back and plead for the opportunity to represent our party as the guber candidate in the 2027 general election. That is the only reason why I resigned,” he said.
“And this is not my first time of taking such risk because it is what I believe in and I’m ready to satisfy anything to ensure that I get to that position of representing our party and of winning the election.”
Highlighting his political history with Tinubu, Adelabu added: “We did the 2019 election together. He supported me and we got to the supreme court. Also, during the 2023 election, we were together before I defected to Accord Party and I even supported him.
“When he became the president, he invited me despite being from another party, to be a minister in his cabinet. And not too longer after, I came back here to the APC where I truly belong.”
He described his resignation as a calculated move aligned with over a decade of preparation for the governorship, expressing confidence in delivering infrastructure, economic growth, and security if elected.
