Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke arrived at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday for a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu, marking his first visit to the seat of power since winning last Saturday's governorship election. The meeting, which took place at 5:25 pm, included National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, who arrived alongside the governor, and four senior Osun State officials who joined shortly after.
Adeleke Arrives at Presidential Villa with NSA Ribadu
According to a report by The Punch, Adeleke pulled into the Villa's forecourt at 5:25 pm, dressed in navy blue traditional attire and carrying a walking stick. He stepped out of a black Toyota Land Cruiser SUV, arriving alongside the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. The visit comes on the back of a telephone congratulatory call Tinubu placed to Adeleke following his re-election win. The President had described the outcome as "a fitting assurance that democracy will continue to flourish in our country" and urged the governor to reach out to all Osun residents, including those who did not vote for him.
Senior Osun Officials Join the Meeting
At about 5:40 pm, four other officials from Osun State were spotted making their way through the Villa's corridors. They included Senator Lere Oyewumi, who served as Director-General of the Adeleke Campaign Council; Sunday Bisi, a member of the same council; Akinleye Kazeem, Chief of Staff to the Governor; and Bamidele Salam, the House of Representatives member for the Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency in Osun State. The details of discussions between Adeleke and the President were not immediately disclosed at the time of the visit.
Impact of the Meeting on Osun State Politics
The meeting is significant as it represents the first direct interaction between the two leaders since the election, which Tinubu's party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), lost to Adeleke's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The President's earlier telephone call to congratulate Adeleke and his call for unity among all Osun residents set a conciliatory tone, but the closed-door nature of the talks leaves the specific outcomes or agreements unknown. The involvement of senior officials from both the national and state levels suggests discussions may have covered governance, security, or political cooperation, though no official statement has been released by either party.
