OSUN ELECTION: Analysts Predict Attitude Of AMBO’s Godfathers Could Wreck His Ambition At Saturday’s Poll

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Osogbo – Political analysts have predicted that judging by the attitude of the godfathers of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Munirideen Bola Oyebamiji, popular as AMBO, he may not be the eventual winner of the Osun State governorship election holding next Saturday, August 15, 2026.

It was gathered that though AMBO is a refined, qualified, gentle and capable personality to occupy the seat of governance of the state, the remarks of majority of residents of the state was that the inadequacies of his godfathers may likely hunt his chances of winning this election as it is impossible to distance self or walk away from his godfathers.
A public commentator, who prefers to be anonymous said APC may likely waste another chance despite the federal might because of the attitude of some chieftains of the party in the state.
“While APC enjoys the federal influence before and during political campaigns in the state, the Accord Party has continued to have sympathy of the voters and residents of the state especially as regards series of attack, arrest and victimisation from the police and hired political thugs,” he said.
Again, there is no doubt the fact that there were lapses on the part of Governor Ademola Adeleke-led governance especially in the area of execution of infrastructural projects which were said to have been badly executed, it was also argued that all the infrastructural projects so far executed by his government does not commensurate to the huge allocations received from the federation account.
Another wrong doing of Governor Adeleke is that his relations are actually behind the wheel steering the affairs of the state which many argued was not good enough.
He was also said to have concentrated many of the state’s infrastructural projects to his domain and home town in Ede which many expressed displeasure at.
For the records, Senator Ademola Adeleke assumed office in the state as the sixth executive governor in the year 2022 after defeating the then Governor, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola of the APC with a wide margin.
No fewer than 14 registered political parties are billed to participate in this fresh election seeking the plumb job occupied by Ademola Adeleke at the Oke Fia Government House, Osogbo. This fresh election will be determined by no less than 2, 339,233 registered voters from 3,763 polling units, 332 wards and 30 local government councils that made the state.
Two main political gladiators were struggling very hard to unseat the incumbent, Senator Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking his re-election on the platform of Accord Party after defecting from People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that brought him to office in 2022. He moved away from PDP due to the leadership crisis rocking the party then.
The two prominent political gladiators are Asiwaju Munirideen Bola Oyebamiji aka AMBO of the APC and former Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Dr. Nojeem Folasayo Sallam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The 2026 gubernatorial election, according to findings will be the third electoral exercises that would directly involved Senator Ademola Adeleke and Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola. Oyetola is currently the leader of APC in the state and championing the selection and endorsement of Bola Oyebamiji to fly the party flag at the poll.
In 2018, Senator Ademola Adeleke contested against Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola and won but the then electoral unmpire declared that the margin with which Adeleke defeated Oyetola was too small to determine successful victory and considered the election inconclusive because of cancellations of some results in some local government areas especially in Ile Ife and Osogbo.
There was rerun and because it was Oyetola’s party that was ruling then, all government machineries were deployed to ensure victory for Oyetola.
However, the 2022 Governorship election brought Senator Ademola Adeleke to office.

ORIGIN OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT CRISIS IN OSUN
There was no elected local government officials in place in the state as at the time Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, former Osun State Governor and now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy was going to poll for second term in 2018 and there was no intention to conduct it until he lost his re-election bid to Adeleke.
Former Governor Oyetola, no doubt nursing the pain of defeat in 2018, deliberately and hurriedly organised election into the local government councils within three months of leaving office which now turned to a political landmine for the state.

All appeals by the then opposition parties against taking actions that could plung the state into avoidable disputes were not taking. Today, Osun State is still grappling with the consequences of that decisions and the matter have become a recurring source of controversy and tension in the state.

Close to two years now, financial allocations to all the 30 local government councils in the state had been seized and lodged in one of the commercial banks running to over N360 billion now.

Adeleke government is sourcing for money elsewhere to pay local government staff their salaries for close to two years now.

Osun APC AND WORKERS
As things stand today, APC remains in war of attriction against Osun workers especially local government staff whose allocation had been seized for close to two years now. One of the workers who do not want his names in print told this reporter that APC administration is not workers friendly.

The recent dramatic freezing of Osun State Government Salary Account by the EFCC is another factor that is warming sympathy of people of the state to Governor Adeleke-led administration as many observers saying it was politically motivated and an attempt to cripple his government ahead of the election so as to give APC advantage at the poll. Some said the decision of the presidency to order EFCC to reverse the decision was an embarrassment not only to the president as he claimed but to the nation as a whole.

There were also hues and cries over the arrest and detention of the Secretary to Osun State Government (SSG), Chief Teslim Igbalaye and eight others by the police during which a sum of N4million plus, two voters’ cards of his siblings were carted away from his house. The police, however, hinged their action on the allegations of vote buying.

About a week to go for the poll, parties are rounding off their campaign activities while INEC also expressed their readiness to conduct free and fair election, the tension has continued to grow for fear of being arrested by the police.

The police indicated that no fewer than 15,000 personnel shall be deployed to the state to maintain law and order warning that any one arrested shall be taking out of the state to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory for interrogation and prosecution.

It, however, cautioned residents of the state to steer clear of trouble.

All participating political parties have signed peace agreement with security agencies and candidates have expressed their readiness for the poll come Saturday 15th 2026.

The APC has expressed their readiness to take over the state from Adeleke and Accord party promising to use all legal means to unseat while Governor Adeleke has declared that he is not under any pressure at all but only lost trust in the police in ensuring free and fair election in the state.
Governor Adeleke declared that the Police had been compromised in its constitutional responsibility to the people of the state and cannot be trusted with the issue of maintenance of orderliness during the poll which is seven days away.