‘Hands Off Osun!’ — PDP Professionals Issue ‘Red Card’ to Fayose Over Attacks on Guber Candidate

The internal rift within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West widened on Friday as a prominent pressure group, Professionals in Osun PDP, issued a stern warning to former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, telling him to “stay off” the affairs of the party in Osun State.

The group’s intervention follows a controversial TV interview where Fayose allegedly made disparaging and defamatory remarks against the Osun PDP gubernatorial candidate, Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola.

In a hard-hitting statement released in Osogbo by the group’s Chairman, Sam Segun-Progress, the professionals described Fayose’s recent media outings as a calculated attempt to destabilize the party’s rebuilding efforts in the state.

While acknowledging that a legal battle is already brewing over Fayose’s comments on TVC’s Politics Tonight, the group insisted that their primary concern is the political sanctity of the Osun chapter.

“Our group is not interested in the lies of the former Governor concerning the party’s candidate on TVC since the flag bearer’s lawyers are dealing with the defamatory remarks,” Segun-Progress stated. “Our concerns is not about the defamatory remarks on the TVC show, our candidate’s lawyers are handling that, we however want to request that Mr Fayose stay off Osun PDP affairs.”

The group did not mince words in its assessment of Fayose’s historical relationship with the Osun PDP. They accused the former governor of having a track record of working against the party’s interests during critical election cycles, citing instances where he allegedly threw his weight behind rivals in the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Mr Fayose has a record of not supporting Osun PDP. We recall that Mr Fayose did not support our candidate in 2014 governorship election, Senator Iyiola Omisore. He was tacitly supporting APC candidate then, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola. He also was nowhere to be found in 2017 during the West Senatorial by-election which was won by Senator Ademola Adeleke,” the Chairman noted.

Despite the harsh criticism, the group maintained a level of cultural diplomacy, citing the Yoruba ethos of respect for elders (Omoluabi). However, they emphasized that this respect should not be mistaken for weakness or an invitation for external interference.

The group argued that the party is currently in a delicate phase of restoration and cannot afford “distractions” from neighboring states.

“As Yoruba people raised with the Omoluabi ethos, we won’t disrespect Mr Fayose but we want to plead with him to stay away from Osun PDP and allow us manage the rebuilding process we have began,” the statement continued.

As the 2026 gubernatorial race approaches, the Professionals in Osun PDP warned that any further attempts to undermine the party’s candidate or its internal unity would be met with stiff resistance.

“We don’t want anything that can affect the steady return to stability by the party in Osun. In the light of that, utterances that can affect that will not be tolerated from any quarter,” Segun-Progress concluded.

The ultimatum from the group adds a fresh layer of complexity to the brewing legal and political feud between Fayose and the Adedamola camp, signaling that the “Lion of Afao” may face a coordinated wall of opposition within the Osun PDP.