By Abiola Olawale
Hezekiah Bamiji, Senior Special Adviser on Media to Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, has branded the recent defection of two Osun senators from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a monumental miscalculation.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on July 24, 2025, Bamiji claimed that Senators Francis Fadahunsi (Osun East) and Olubiyi Fadeyi (Osun Central) fell into a political trap set by the APC, misled by rumors of Adeleke’s alleged plan to switch parties.
The New Diplomat reports that their defection, which was formally announced on the Senate floor on July 23, 2025, saw Fadahunsi and Fadeyi join two other PDP senators in bolstering the APC’s Senate majority to 70 seats, reducing the PDP’s count to 28.
Bamiji argued that the senators’ decision stemmed from an assumption that Adeleke was poised to defect, a rumor fueled by the governor’s high-profile visit to President Bola Tinubu in Lagos on June 3, 2025, alongside his brother Adedeji Adeleke and nephew, Afrobeats star Davido.
Bamiji emphasized that Adeleke remains firmly committed to the PDP, serving as its leader in Osun State. He criticized the senators for failing to consult the governor or their constituencies before making such a crucial and monumental move.
Bamiji said: “Maybe what I can say is a kind of miscalculation on the part of the lawmakers. The rumour perhaps overwhelmed them, thinking that the governor was coming, they felt that they were Abuja politicians and should be faster than the governor.
“The governor is the leader of the party in Osun State. I felt they should have consulted with their leader and perhaps also the people in their various constituencies, but I am not sure that was done.
“Even if the governor was going to move, did they ask the governor any questions? Yes, the APC set a trap for them, and they entered.”
