- As Party Debunks Social Media Reports On Primaries
- Shadow Election Will Be Transparent – Abdullahi
There are indications that two chieftains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) – Dr. Najeem Salaam and Dr. Rasaq Saliu would pick the nomination form of the party for the 2026 gubernatorial election in Osun State.
OSUN DEFENDER reports that the primary election of the ADC, where the candidate who will fly the party’s flag in the August 08, 2026 election would be elected, would take place on Wednesday, December 10.
The party, in a statement by its National Organising Secretary, Prince Chinedu Idigo, said aspirants are to obtain the Governorship Expression of Interest Form for N5 million while the Nomination Form attracts a non-refundable fee of N25 million.
The statement also said female aspirants are exempt from payment.
According to the guidelines, the sale of forms will commence on Wednesday, November 12, and close on Monday, December 1, 2025.
Idigo said aspirants must be registered members of the party for at least two years with fully paid dues, adding that new members seeking to contest must pay four years of membership dues totalling N48,000 before obtaining a membership card.
The screening for the aspirants is slated for Wednesday, December 3, at the party’s national secretariat.
While the sales of the ADC gubernatorial forms will close tomorrow, Monday, December 01, OSUN DEFENDER gathered that Salaam and Saliu would pick up the forms before the close of work tomorrow.
Salaam, a former speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly is reportedly being backed by the ‘Omoluabi Progressives’, a caucus within the party led by Alhaji Azeez Adesiji.
Meanwhile, OSUN DEFENDER gathered that Saliu is favoured by another chieftain of the party in the state, Senator Felix Ogunwale, ahead of the primary.
Meanwhile, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, has debunked a post circulating online that the party has “picked” a candidate as its Osun 2026 governorship candidate.
Abdullahi, in a statement on Sunday, described the post as “false and misleading”.
According to him, the party has already announced the official date for its Osun primaries, noting that the “party remains firmly committed to the highest standards of internal democracy. ADC does not hand-pick candidates, and no individual has been selected ahead of the primary process.”
“The so-called ‘announcement’ being shared originates from unverified posts and publications, not from any official ADC channel,” Abdullahi stated.
The ADC further said that until the primaries are conducted by the party’s authorised organs, no candidacy is valid or recognised.
“ADC guarantees a free, fair, and level playing field for every aspirant. Accordingly, we ask the public to disregard any and all such reports,” the statement added.
It would be recalled that the National Secretary of the party recently led the party mobilisation across the nine federal constituencies in the state.
Speaking during the grand finale of the federal constituency tour in Osogbo, Aregbesola charged the leadership and members of the party to remain united and work together to ensure victory at the August 08, 2026 gubernatorial election.
The former two-term governor of Osun State, while addressing a large crowd of supporters who attended the event, said the electorate was ready to vote for the ADC in the forthcoming election.
Kazeem Badmus is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience. A professional in journalism and media writing, Kazeem prioritses accuracy and factual reportage of issues. He is also a dexterous finder of the truth with conscious delivery of unbiased and development oriented stories.
