Oyebamiji and Adeleke
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Imole Campaign Council (TICC) of the Accord Party on Tuesday traded words over the August 15, 2026, governorship election in Osun State, with both sides expressing confidence of victory.
The exchange followed the inauguration of the Osun State APC Governorship Campaign Council in Abuja, where the National Chairman of the APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, declared that the Accord Party could not withstand the political strength the ruling party was deploying for the election.
Yilwatda likened the APC’s political strength in Osun to a trailer confronting a keke napep, insisting that no political party in the state, including the Accord Party of Governor Ademola Adeleke, could match the calibre of governors, National Assembly members and local government chairmen the APC was mobilising ahead of the poll.
He explained that members of the campaign council were carefully selected from among governors, members of the National Assembly, the Federal Executive Council, deputy governors, past and present lawmakers and other party stakeholders, including members of the business community.
The APC National Chairman said the party would mobilise human and material resources across the state, with governors from the South-West, South-South and South-East taking responsibility for the three senatorial districts, while governors from the North would also deploy local government chairmen, councillors and lawmakers for grassroots mobilisation.
Yilwatda described the Osun governorship election as a litmus test for the APC ahead of the 2027 general election, saying the poll would serve as a rehearsal for the party’s political structure ahead of the next nationwide elections.
Reacting, the Imole Campaign Council dismissed the APC National Chairman’s remarks, saying the boast about deploying governors and other political office holders reflected political arrogance rather than the realities of the Osun political landscape.
In a statement signed by the Chairman of its Media and Publicity Committee, Rep. Bamidele Salam, the campaign council argued that elections are won by the people and not by the number of governors, National Assembly members or political office holders assembled by a political party.
The council maintained that the people of Osun State would determine who governs them based on the performance of the current administration, insisting that they would not allow outsiders to decide their future.
It also rejected the APC chairman’s “trailer versus keke napep” comparison, arguing that the August 15 governorship election would be a contest between the performance of Governor Ademola Adeleke and the APC governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji.
The campaign council claimed that Governor Adeleke had earned the goodwill of the people through achievements in road infrastructure, healthcare, education, workers’ welfare, water supply, agriculture and youth empowerment.
It further alleged that the APC’s reliance on governors and other political figures from outside Osun State showed that its governorship candidate lacked the capacity to independently mobilise support within the state.
The Imole Campaign Council urged the APC to focus its campaign on issues and present credible alternatives to the electorate instead of relying on political boasts and external mobilisation.
