What City People Found Out
The question many people have been asking in Osun State and beyond over the last few days is how Gov. Ademola Adeleke plans to win the forthcoming governorship race, scheduled to hold on Saturday, 8th August, 2026.
We can tell you. Many political analysts have been wondering how he intends to beat contestants from other parties who will be joining the race, especially those from the other major political parties.
How will he also tackle the unbearable pressure coming from APC the main opposition party in the state?
What makes the Osun governorship all the more interesting is the fact that the APC desperately wants to win the state. We have it on good authority that the President is also very interested in APC winning considerable votes in Osun State and he is working towards that.
What has also put the forthcoming Osun elections on the front burner was the recent visit of Gov. Adeleke, his elder brother and nephew, Davido to Pres Bola Tinubu at his Lagos residence a few days ago. During the visit which was described by the Gov. as the Adeleke’s paying a Sallah visit to the President, photos were taken and the photos went viral. Even the Governor posted some of the photos on his personal page on Instagram.
Also, days before the visit, Davido who is quite close to his Dad and Uncle had visited Pres. Tinubu in Aso Rock with some of his friends, and the videos went viral. Davido is also said to be close to the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu.
A lot of videos exist online of Davido & Seyi meeting publicly at events and concerts. One of Seyi’s initiatives is to mobilise and galvanise the youths of Nigeria for his dad. And he is engaging various platforms to propagate that, the most important platform being Entertainment.
Expectedly, many people have read meanings into the recent closeness of Gov. Adeleke to Pres Bola Tinubu.
Some have suggested that Gov. Adeleke has agreed to work for the president’s return, whilst he has secured the President’s support for his own 2nd term also. There are those who have also suggested that Gov. Adeleke is most likely going to decamp to APC along with other governors like Gov. Eno of Akwa Ibom.
This claim has been debunked by Gov. Adeleke’s aides. Their response is that Gov. Adeleke is going no where and that he remains a strong pillar of the PDP.
“Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State is not defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party to any political party”, one of his aides said.
“He remains a bonafide member and leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State”.
This clarification was made by the Spokesperson to the Governor, Mallam Olawale Rasheed who faulted media speculations on imminent defection of the governor All to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The media speculation about likely or imminent defection is fake news. Governor Adeleke remains a member and leader of the PDP in Osun State.
“The visit by the Adeleke dynasty to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a routine courtesy visit. Any reading of defection agenda into the visit is mere fake news”, the statement clarified.
Some of the pro-Adeleke activists described it as a wicked rumour.
The latest rumour making the rounds is that a deal may have been struck between Mr. President and Gov. Adeleke which will enable the 2 of them to support each other. What that translates to explains an insider is that President Tinubu will tacitly support Gov. Adeleke’s 2nd term bid and Gov. Adeleke will also help President Tinubu serve considerable votes in Osun State. The President we hear is targeting to have over 25 votes in many of the states. So, its like a rub my back and I will rub your back situation.
Already, some APC bigwigs are kicking against the recent romance between the President and Gov. Adeleke.
They are suspecting that if what they think is true, the APC might not be able to win Osun in 2026 and Gov. Adeleke will clinch his 2nd term.
What is on Gov. Adeleke’s mind, you may be wondering? We can tell you. We can reveal that the Osun governor is so sure that he will win again in 2026, on account of his deliverables.
This is because he is so popular across the state and he has been able to deliver on his promise to Osun people.
He believes that the profound transformation that the state has witnessed over the last 3 years will translate to votes for him.
Recall that his governorship campaign in 2022 was based on a 5 point agenda, which resonated with the Osun people. And they supported his ambition based on the agenda, as follows: (1) First line charge is for workers welfare, salaries, gratuities and pension (2) Boosting state economy by business partnering and support for business class. Gov Adeleke’s view is that Osun faces twin setbacks of POVERTY & UNEMPLOYMENT. To change the narratives, boosting state economy via business partnership and market operators across all gender. He promised to introduce policies that will increase the state GDP through prosperity of the business community (3) Making Osun money serve Osun people through homegrown infrastucture policy. He explained that Osun State had in the last 12 or so years suffered multibillion naira Capital Flight. What he said he will do is introduce an agenda of localisation. This implies government patronising local suppliers and contractors. This will involve state fund revolving within the local economy, deepening state growth and ensuring local economy expansion. He promised to address infrastructure gaps through local affordable options. (4) He promised people-focused social policy through skill-based education, affordable healthcare, state security and social security support.
Gov. Adeleke’s analysis then was that Osun was in the past a victim of fanciful policy designs which neglected the People an relegated their interets to the background, we must run a people-centric government”, he said (5) He also promised industrialisation for wealth and job creation for youth and women. He said the industrialisation efforts would be agricultural based in addition to other sectors, such as solid minerals.
So, when he came in, Gov. Adeleke hit the ground and his activities in the last few years shows he has kept true to his agenda. No wonder he won The Vanguard Personality of the Year Award on INFRASTRUCTURE.
Mr. Jide Ajani of Vanguard Newspaper revealed that Vanguard settled on Adeleke because of his monumental strides in infrastructure. “Osun is indeed a huge construction site. You (Gov Adeleke) have continued to complete abandoned projects from your predecessors. We have your records on roads, bridges, water, school, and health centre upgrades, among others”.
“We have seen your multibillion naira infrastructure plan and its ongoing implementation”. He is being commended for not playing Politics with the development of his state, by abandoning inherited projects.
He is not only completing abandoned road project he has completed abandoned projects.
He is also constructing new roads all over the state to address the huge road infrastructure deficit he met on the ground.
He is not only just building infrastructures, but also investing on the welfare of the people. From the time he came in, he has taken steps to defray inherited salary debt and inherited pension liabilities.
Gov. Adeleke says that all he has done in the last 3 years has endeared him to the people of Osun and will definitely lead to a lot of votes.
