Governor Ademola Adeleke and three rival candidates made their final public case to Osun voters on Tuesday, sparring over infrastructure claims, security allegations and federal government influence ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
Speaking at an Arise Television townhall in Osogbo, Adeleke of the Accord party squared off against APC’s Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, ADC’s Dr Najeem Salaam, and AAC’s Olajide Esan. The panel featured Dr Reuben Abati, Dr Lasisi Olagunju, Dr Festus Adedayo and Adesuwa Omoruan.
Adeleke: “I am a bulldozer”
Adeleke dismissed suggestions that federal backing for Oyebamiji would sway the outcome, calling himself unbothered by the support some APC governors are giving his opponent.
“I am a bulldozer. I am talk and do. I am not afraid of federal might and governors backing the APC candidate. If they like, they should bring all the governors,” he said, adding that the visiting governors “won’t vote; they can only come and dance.”
He denied accusations that his government had militarised the state, insisting he has no constitutional power to deploy the armed forces. “I am not the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,” he said.
The governor pointed to 350 kilometres of completed roads and another 160 kilometres under construction, alongside the rehabilitation of about 200 primary healthcare centres fitted with solar lighting and beds. He said his administration had also bought 31 tractors for farmers and trained more than 1,500 Amotekun operatives.
Adeleke rejected claims that some of the roads built under his watch were substandard, calling the criticism propaganda, and defended his habit of dancing in public. “Nobody will stop me from dancing. As I am dancing, I am working,” he said.
He also addressed accusations of favouring his hometown, Ede, where a new airport is being sited, saying the location was chosen by experts after a wider survey. Asked whether he would concede if he lost, Adeleke said he was too confident of victory to entertain the question.
Oyebamiji: “We want to banish hunger and poverty”
Oyebamiji rejected the notion that the Federal Government was working to hand him victory, saying nothing he encountered in his campaign across 30 local government areas supported that claim.
He promised to prioritise agriculture, education, healthcare and security if elected, and pledged to govern the entire state rather than concentrate development in select areas.
The APC candidate challenged Adeleke to account for roughly N650 billion in federal allocations received since taking office, on top of N15 billion he said his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola, left behind. He claimed Osun received only N450 billion combined under the 12-year APC governments of Rauf Aregbesola and Oyetola, and alleged that 97 per cent of current spending is concentrated in just two local governments.
Salaam: “Osun people do not want thuggery again”
ADC’s Najeem Salaam cited his background as a political scientist and farmer, along with a PhD in political science, as qualifications for the office. He pledged a “people-centred government” built on the achievements of past administrations while closing existing governance gaps.
Salaam said his campaign was built on a promise of peace, alleging that political violence and weapons proliferation remain widespread in the state. “Osun people know that if they give it to A or B, they will fight,” he said, positioning his 10-point agenda as realistic and research-driven.
Esan: “Give governance back to the people”
AAC’s Olajide Esan pledged to make governance more participatory, accusing politicians of exploiting the state’s problems rather than solving them.
He proposed an “Osun Residents Database” to improve service planning and a public financial dashboard that would let residents track government spending in real time. “If one error happens, they can call me, ‘youth governor, where is our one naira?'” he said, arguing that greater transparency would discourage officials from treating governance as a business.
Osun State votes for a new governor on Saturday, August 15.
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