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… Accord fires back, says political map favours incumbent
Ismail Omipidan, Abuja
Slowly, but steadily, the August 15 Osun Governorship contest appears to be taking shape with the unveiling on Tuesday of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council at the state level.
According to the party, a serving federal lawmaker, Hon. Wole Oke, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is Director – General of the team. For the first time, the party has also decentralised the campaign structure, as it announced campaign directors across the three senatorial districts in the state.
It named a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Adebayo Adeleke as Director-General, Osun Central Senatorial District Campaign Committee, former governorship aspirant, Prince Dotun Babayemi as Director-General, Osun West, and another APC stalwart, who is a strong player in the Oil and Gas sector, Hon. Thomas Ogungbangbe as Director-General, Osun East. Osun APC also went ahead to name leaderships of the campaign teams for the nine federal constituencies in the state.
Hon. Oke thanked party leaders for finding him worthy to lead the campaign, assuring the party of victory in the August 15.
The five-term federal lawmaker noted that the party’s structure and experience position it strongly to unseat the incumbent administration. A claim, the ruling Accord Party in state described as a “mere fantasy.”
In 2014, the Osun State governorship contest was a straight fight between the APC and the PDP, with the APC carrying the day. But in 2018, four major parties made efforts to have significant presence in the rectangular battle. Again, in the end, the APC carried the day. However, by 2022, it was a straight battle between APC and PDP. In the end, PDP carried the day.
Although, there are more than a dozen political parties listed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as participating in the August 15, 2026 governorship contest, political pundits are however of the view that the contest will be a fierce one among three leading political parties. The parties are: Accord Party (AP) APC, and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) .
Interestingly, while AP and ADC appear bent on ensuring that APC does not win the state, there is no clear working alliance between them against the APC.
Regardless, the Osun APC has advised Governor Adeleke and his Accord Party to “without further delay, start writing his handover note as there can not be any escape route for him on the 15th of August, 2026 when he would be constitutionally flushed out of office.”
Speaking through its Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, the party further said “It is too late in the day for Senator Adeleke to make any amend as his exhibited best for the past three years has shown that he is grossly lacking in the attributes required to effectively govern the state in the overall interest of the people of the state.
“Our warning to the embattled incumbent governor who was refused defection into the APC is that he should not resort to complaining when his imminent loss in the election comes into effect as it is on record that he was the architect of his political misfortune.
“Never in the history of the state has there been any ineffective governor like Adeleke and never shall his like make his way to the political leadership of the state again as his inglorious tenure has succeeded in eroding all the enviable gains of the past administrations in the state.
“There’s no one who engages in the anomalous approach to governance as Governor Adeleke has been going about and get away with it.
” Our regret, as a party, is that the uneventful administration of Governor Adeleke has robbed off the state of so many developmental projects which he could not access because of his pathological limitation.
” We congratulate the good people of Osun State that the inglorious era of trial by error type of governance in Osun State as it is being witnessed under Governor Adeleke is fast coming to an end when the governor will dance back to his Ede country home or from where he might have come from in the United States of America.”
Responding, the Adeleke Campaign Organisation noted that Osun APC and its Campaign DG are”living in the old world as Osun 2026 political map is fully and firmly in favour of Governor Ademola Adeleke and his party, Accord with old APC bases now Accord strongholds.”
It further said” the Osun political map across the nine federal constituencies have shifted significantly from the 2022 allegiance pattern,” insisting that the governor would win the August election with a margin of over 200,000 votes.
The Governor Adeleke’s team further said “The governor’s winning team remains tactically and strategically intact and is now strengthened by an army of society stakeholders, grassroots groups, labour movements and activists for justice in Osun local administration. Osun’s Map is today more than 90 percent yellow including Boripe local government where Mr Gboyega Oyetola hails from.
“As of today in Osun State, almost 90 percent of voting segments and groups that decide who wins Osun elections are with Governor Adeleke and the Accord. Again, more than 90 percent of such groups have openly endorsed the governor for a second term in office. Many old APC strongholds are now firmly in the hands of the Accord.
“Additionally, all critical voting groups in Osun state are determined never to allow the state to return to the dark days. Across towns and villages, Osun people are bracing up to re- elect the governor from Ijeshaland to Igbominaland, to Ifeland to Agunbe to Osogbo to Ede to Iwo, and other major towns and villages including even Ikire where the APC candidate hail from.
“Osun has also become politically radicalised. Various underground electoral protection groups have emerged across the nine federal constituencies in protection of democracy and will of the people. The people are determined to protect their votes from election bandits. “
As it stands today, only Accord Party and APC appear to be showing signs of seriousness ahead of the August 15 poll. But unlike the APC, both ADC and Accord Party are yet to formally unveil their campaign teams. All said and done, the days ahead promises to be decisive and interesting.
