A video clip of former Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu, popularly known as Penkele or Penkelemesi, has gone viral on social media, showing him advising Nigerians—particularly residents of Oyo State—to reject the All Progressives Congress (APC) at both state and national levels, while stating that the party has “wrecked” Nigeria.
The roughly 50-second clip, shared widely on X (formerly Twitter) on October 10, 2026, appears to be from a radio interview on Lagelu FM’s Bosenlo programme, hosted by Temitayo Oyeladun.
In the footage, Adelabu is seen speaking in a studio setting as the host and another panelist react. Online commentary accompanying the clip claims he told listeners it had become difficult to defend the APC and urged voters to turn away from the party.
The video has drawn significant engagement, with thousands of views, likes, and reposts in a short time. Supporters of opposition figures and critics of the ruling party have amplified it as evidence of internal APC discontent.
Some reactions highlighted the interviewer’s apparent surprise and references in the discussion to Adelabu declining an APC ticket at the time, with comments noting divine guidance or personal decisions against collecting one.
However, multiple users responding to the circulating posts have pointed out that the interview appears to date from around 2023 or earlier, predating Adelabu’s appointment as Power Minister under President Bola Tinubu and his subsequent 2026 bid for the Oyo APC governorship ticket. No mainstream news reports from recent days corroborate a fresh statement matching the viral claims.
Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and scion of the late Ibadan politician Adegoke Adelabu, served as Minister of Power from August 2023 until resigning in April 2026 to pursue the Oyo governorship.
He contested the APC primary but lost out amid controversy over the process; Senator Sharafadeen Alli emerged as the party’s candidate. Adelabu later withdrew from further challenges, citing party unity, while repeatedly affirming his loyalty to the APC and to President Tinubu, whom he has described as his political mentor and benefactor.
In statements issued in August and September 2026, Adelabu distanced himself from the defection of a former aide to another party, insisted he remained an APC member with no intention of leaving, and called for transparency in the nomination process and reconciliation within the party’s Oyo chapter. He has rejected suggestions of defecting.
The resurfacing of the older clip comes against the backdrop of ongoing political realignments in Oyo State ahead of the 2027 general elections, where the APC faces the incumbent Peoples Democratic Party administration of Governor Seyi Makinde. Social media users have framed the video variously as a sign of genuine frustration from within ruling-party ranks or as opportunistic recycling of past remarks to undermine the APC after Adelabu’s primary setback.
As of Saturday, there has been no immediate public response from Adelabu or his media team addressing the specific viral video. The episode underscores the intense scrutiny and rapid spread of archival political content in Nigeria’s highly charged pre-election atmosphere.
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