Osun APC Accuses Governor Adeleke of Stifling Opposition

Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has accused the State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, of deliberately stifling the opposition.

The APC said Adeleke was not giving opposition a free hand to operate by its creation of a non-level playing ground for the campaign activities in respect of the next year’s governorship election in the state.

In a statement released by the party’s spokesman, Kola Olabisi, obtained in Osogbo on Friday, APC said Adeleke and his cohorts “are desperately looking for ways to hold down the hands of the APC governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, in the contest by misusing his power of incumbency.

“What could have informed the Draconian and sadistic directive of the Osun State Government under the leadership of Mr Adeleke to have  directed O’Signage Agency not to approve the erection or pasting  of any APC billboard in Osogbo?”

The opposition party said it reliably gathered that “The Osun State Government specifically instructed that no APC billboards should be displayed from Akoda to Osogbo City Stadium within a specific period of time between now and the period of the election.”

Olabisi further alleged that the state government has ordered O’ Signage Agency to identify “the owners of the existing billboards across Osogbo and compensate them for a period of three years per billboard.”

He queried why the Adeleke administration would resort to “such an unlawful, unpopular, wicked, unsustainable and cruel approach to politics and politicking if not the fear of his imminent defeat that is staring the fast-fading administration of the hitherto Peoples Democratic Party PDP- led government that has jumped ship to the Accord party?

“We want to implore those who are devising this undemocratic development for Mr Adeleke to go back to their drawing board, as this one has hit the rocks. Why is Mr Adeleke afraid to play the games of politics according to the rules if indeed he is popular, as he is making some people who can not differentiate between popularity and notoriety believe?”

But while reacting in a statement, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on O’Signage, Hoarding and Advertisement Agency, Wale Ayofe-Aminu, accused the APC of portraying routine regulatory actions as political persecution.

Describing the claims by the Osun APC as “baseless, hollow and politically contrived, clearly designed to mask their growing unease over the unmistakable love and overwhelming support the people of Osun State continue to show for Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke.”

Ayofe-Aminu said, “A party that presided over years of neglect, regulatory arbitrariness and administrative recklessness now suddenly seeks refuge in feigned concern for legality and democracy. The sudden shedding of crocodile tears by the Osun APC is neither convincing nor redemptive; it is simply a loud reminder of a party struggling to come to reality with its rejection by the people.”

Insisting that the agency was being guided by relevant laws, Ayofe-Aminu explained that “The Osun State Signage and Advertisement Agency operates strictly within the confines of the law. Regulations governing billboards and outdoor advertisements are uniform, transparent and non-discriminatory, applying equally to all political parties and stakeholders. There has been no directive, explicit or implied, to victimise any party or candidate. Any insinuation to the contrary is a calculated distortion of facts.

“The truth the Osun APC finds uncomfortable is this: Governor Adeleke’s people-oriented governance has earned him genuine grassroots affection, not manufactured popularity. Roads are being built, workers are being paid, communities are being touched, and governance has returned to the people. No amount of press theatrics or alarmist propaganda can erase this reality.”

He said the APC’s outburst was less about billboards and more about panic in the face of an impending political reckoning, adding that no volume of noise, victim narratives or media dramatisation will save the opposition party from defeat in the 2026 Governorship Election.

He urged the APC to focus on rebuilding credibility among the people rather than engaging in futile attempts to discredit lawful institutions.

“Osun people are politically enlightened; they can clearly distinguish between governance and gimmicks. The Osun State Government, under the leadership of Governor Ademola Adeleke, remains committed to fairness, rule of law and democratic principles, and no amount of political agitation will derail that commitment,” he further said.

Osun APC and the state government have been trading accusations on issues bothering on the management of public funds and security.

PUNCH Online reports on November 11 that the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of mismanaging state resources.

The party demanded a detailed account of funds received since his assumption of office in November 2022.

In a statement signed by its chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, in Osogbo, the state capital, on Tuesday, the opposition alleged that despite huge federal allocations to the state, students of Osun State University and the University of Ilesa, both owned by the state, were still being forced to pay what it described as “outrageous” tuition and accommodation fees.

The APC claimed that the Adeleke administration received over ₦850 billion in allocations between November 2022 and September 2025, but had “little or nothing to show for it.”

However, Adeleke’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, dismissed the allegations as “fake news from a party set for another defeat in 2026.”

Rasheed said the opposition’s claims of ₦1 trillion allocation were “a devilish fabrication and mischievous propaganda” aimed at discrediting a performing administration.

He noted that the government had prudently managed state resources and achieved major milestones in infrastructure, healthcare, education, sports, and welfare.