Osun 2026: APC, PDP Clash Over Use Of Diabolical Means To Win Votes

By Ayobami Agboola, Osogbo

The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State are locked in a verbal battle over the 2026 governorship election.

In a statement, the APC condemned Governor Ademola Adeleke’s alleged desperation to retain power beyond 2026 by allegedly forcing some commercial motorcycle riders to swear an oath of allegiance and continuous support for him. But the PDP denied the allegation, saying the opposition party is known for its diabolical tendencies in playing politics.

APC Chair man Tajudeen Lawal said: “Adeleke has now resorted to forcing commercial motorcycle and tricycle riders in the state to swear to an oath of continuous support for the PDP in all the future elections in the state with the god of iron called ‘Ogun’ in Yoruba parlance.

The APC chairman in a statement issued by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, claimed that despite the governor’s “pungent abysmal poor handling of the governance of the state to the chagrin of the right-thinking members of the society,”

Lawal alleged that, “Reliable information has it that when it was apparent that the people of Osun State are fed up with the exhibition of indolence, inefficiency, lack of tact and diplomacy, vindictiveness, favouritism and vendetta, by Governor Adeleke as the unfortunate Chief Driver of the state, the state governor and his cohorts, have taken to various unacceptable means of coercing different groups of the people of the state to declare continuous support for the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP)-run administration in the state.

“It was also gathered that words have been passed round from the state capital level of the transportation unions that the secret oath-taking of the compulsory allegiance should be held in all the units of the unions across the nooks and crannies of the state.

But, PDP swiftly denied, alleging that the opposition party is known with fetish and diabolical tendencies in playing its politics, asking APC to count Adeleke out of its stock in trade.

Reacting the State Chairman of PDP, Hon. Sunday Bisi called on Osun APC to “count the ruling PDP out of its devilish way to gain support,” noting that “it is never in the practice of the PDP to subscribe to oath-taking or any other voodoo means to retain support.”

“It is well known to Osun people that the APC operates more like an occultic group than a political party, and so, can only be the one who deploys oath-taking to gain support. It must be this understanding, I presume, that is giving Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, the archaic impression about the PDP, but unfortunately, he is damned wrong.

“The PDP’s only way to gaining and retaining support is good governance, and this much explains the energy and zeal that Governor Adeleke is putting into turning Osun around for the better. While the Adeleke administration has been focused on getting Osun people on its side through a series of impactful and visible programmes and projects, the APC has been fixated on spewing lies about Governor Adeleke and in some cases, prying into his personal life.

“The reason for this is no other than the wasteful years of the APC in Osun, because for the twelve years it was at the helm of affairs, the stories of pains and mismanagement reigned supreme. Not even the immediate past administration led by the APC has anything tangible to woo support of the people, hence, the resort to lies and inanities.

“As a party, we will not be distracted by the shameless attitude of charlatans who seek power not because of the people but to serve their miserable lives. Governor Adeleke will continue to invest in the wellbeing of the people through meaningful interventions, and in turn, get their support, while those who are struggling so hard to get back the trust of the people they wasted through crude mismanagement and gross incompetence will continue to wail,” he alleged.