Osun Election: Oyebamiji Vows to Unseat Adeleke

The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Osun State, Bola Oyebamiji, has expressed confidence that he will defeat Governor Ademola Adeleke in a landslide in the August 8, 2026, governorship election, dismissing what he described as propaganda by the current administration. Oyebamiji, a former managing director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), said no amount of misinformation would stop the APC’s return to power in the state.

Speaking at the APC youths’ reconciliation summit held at the party secretariat in Osogbo, Oyebamiji stressed the strategic importance of young people to the party’s electoral success. He urged APC youths to take ownership of the campaign by countering negative narratives through door-to-door and grassroots engagement across the state. According to him, the 2026 election would be fundamentally different from the 2022 contest, calling on party members to work diligently and without fear.

Amid the political exchanges, the Osun State Government has rejected claims by consulting firm Sally Tibbot Limited that 8,452 workers on the state payroll were “ghost workers,” allegedly costing the state over N13.7 billion annually. The government said a revalidation exercise uncovered only 1,316 unseen employees and pensioners, far below the figures cited by the firm.

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The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment described the firm’s press briefing as an attempt to pressure the government into accepting an inflated audit report. He said many of those flagged as ghost workers were verified staff and retirees, adding that the firm neither demanded proof of existence nor agreed to be paid based on the disputed figures. The government further stated that 8,015 of the 8,448 workers listed were confirmed as active staff, with only 433 remaining unreachable.

Reacting to the controversy, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) governorship candidate in Osun State, Adewale Adebayo, criticized Governor Adeleke’s handling of the matter, describing the administration’s defense as evasive and contradictory, as political actors continue to trade words ahead of the 2026 governorship race.