Adeleke Meets Wike in Abuja, Presents Certificate of Return

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has met with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in Abuja, continuing his post-election engagements with prominent political figures following his re-election.

Adeleke visited Wike on Thursday, August 20, shortly after meeting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

A photograph of the meeting, shared by Wike’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, showed Adeleke and the FCT minister shaking hands while jointly holding the governor’s Certificate of Return.

Olayinka captioned the photograph: “Governor Ademola Adeleke visits the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.”

The visit came hours after Adeleke held a closed-door meeting with Tinubu at the State House, where he presented his Certificate of Return to the President.

Speaking after the meeting with Tinubu, Adeleke said he was at the Presidential Villa primarily to thank the President for what he described as his role in allowing the Osun governorship election to take place freely.

The governor said Tinubu deserved commendation for respecting the democratic process and allowing the election to run its course.

Adeleke was declared winner of the August 15 Osun governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), securing 511,067 votes.

His closest challenger, the All Progressives Congress candidate Bola Oyebamiji, polled 444,815 votes, giving Adeleke a winning margin of 66,252 votes. The incumbent won 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11.

The governor contested the election on the platform of the Accord Party after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party. Despite his movement to the Accord Party, the Osun PDP backed his re-election bid.

Adeleke’s meeting with Wike has attracted attention because of the FCT minister’s prominent role in national politics and his previous involvement in political discussions surrounding the Osun election.

Wike had recently said he could have helped President Tinubu secure victory for the APC in Osun if the President had wanted to deploy his political influence to win the election.

However, Thursday’s meeting was not accompanied by any official statement detailing the issues discussed between Adeleke and Wike.

The governor’s series of meetings in Abuja comes after his successful bid for a second term and his public call for reconciliation following the election.

Adeleke had earlier said he held no grudge against his political opponents and pledged to govern in the interest of all residents of Osun State.

He has also described the Certificate of Return as belonging to the people of Osun State, while promising to build on his administration’s achievements during his second term.