APM, Osun People’ll Resist Attempt To Use State Resources To Buy Second Term –Adebayo

Barely five months to the 2026 Osun State Governorship Election, the candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Hon Adewale Adebayo, spoke with AYOBAMI AGBOOLA, on political activities in the state and moves to wrest power from the incumbent government.

Excerpts:

Campaign for the governorship election in Osun State started on March 11, 2026, but it seems your party is not on ground for the contest?

That assertion is very wrong! What are the parameters that were used to arrive at this claim? I want to tell you that we are everywhere in Osun State.

Based on the name of our party, my agenda for the gubernatorial seat is a movement, the residents of the state are embracing us everyday because we are youth-oriented. Before the commencement of the campaign, our youths embarked on house-to-house awareness creation to ensure that we tell the people of the state the reasons they should vote for us.

Do you think you have what it takes to rival the two main political parties in the state?

Main political parties my foot. I know you don’t want to mention names but I will help you mention them and give you analysis why they will fail in the forthcoming election in Osun State. The incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, got to the office on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2022, but where is the party today? It is in a morgue and about to be buried finally in 2027.

The party has lost its leadership to greed, covetousness and pride. A political party that cannot lead itself should not be allowed to govern the good people of Nigeria because that same energy will ooze and percolate to the style they will adopt on the resources of the masses.

Adeleke is part of the leadership that failed the party, hence he should not be allowed to govern the state again. He has lost his main supporters to other political parties which is an indication that he can not manage people.

Also, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is struggling in areas where they were strong before, we have taken over the strongholds of the APC, especially in Osun West and Central Senatorial Districts. I am confident that we are more acceptable as a political party in Osun State.

We have seen smaller political parties that later endorsed bigger ones; won’t this happen to APM ahead of the August 15, 2026?

Never! We are not in the contest to support any political party later, but we are in the contest to win the gubernatorial seat. By the grace of God, I will be sworn in at the Bola Ige House by November 27, 2026.

Your party is relatively unpopular, what are you doing to make sure that the party is popular enough to get the needed support to put you in the government house?

It is laughable to say our party is not popular. APM is the future of Nigeria, you know why? Because the party has been adopted by youths and the generations that have been failed by your so-called popular parties, APC and the PDP. Nigerians are not seeing the future in these parties because only a fool will keep doing things the same way and expect a different result.

There is no doubt that the PDP is dead in Osun State; they are not on the ballot for the 2026 gubernatorial poll. Accord Party, which the incumbent governor ran to, does not have the structure because this is the first time they will actively involve themselves in election matters in the state.

In the case of the APC, the party is still struggling despite the fact that they have loads of politicians that defected into the party, but our party, is rising every day. The last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) that was done in Osun State, we mobilised a lot of youths for the exercise and I am sure that they will vote for our party massively ahead of your so-called popular parties.

The goal for 2026 is that APM is taking over Bola Ige House, nothing can stop it. Vote-buying, violence, inducement of any kind cannot stop me from becoming the next governor of Osun State. Let me leak one secret to you, some members of your so-called popular parties who are aggrieved or not pleased with their parties are in talks with us, they will work with us.

You were a former chairman of APM in Osun State before your emergence as the governorship candidate; why do you think that becoming the governor of the state should be your next target?

You have even helped me in answering this question and previous answers also helped too. The journey for me to emerge as the governorship candidate of my party is not my decision, but that of my party, APM, both at the national and state levels.

They saw potential in me and this informed their decision to push me forward. Remember, I emerged as a consensus candidate of the party, as there was no opposition. I was nominated and I was given the chance to represent them. This is what is called capacity. They saw the capacity and they are confident that I will govern well.

They also promised me that they will work tirelessly to ensure my emergence on August 8, 2026. Let me also remind you of my journey to becoming the APM Chairman, I emerged at a time when the party needed structure, direction, and credibility in Osun State which I delivered and I am still building on this till today.

So why governance as the next step?

It is because leadership must progress from organising to executing. Party administration prepares you for elections; and governance prepares you for impact.

After years of engaging policy issues, mobilising across party lines, and objectively criticising governments when they got it wrong, it would be irresponsible to stop at commentary. At some point, you must be willing to take responsibility for implementation.

Osun does not need another experimental governor. It needs someone who has organised, negotiated, challenged power, and understands politics beyond elections. That is why this is not just my next target, it is the right next step.

What is your party’s plan towards the 2026 Osun guber election?

Our plan for the 2026 Osun governorship election is simple; focused, and rooted in reality. We are not treating this as just another campaign; we are treating it as a movement. First, groundwork comes before noise. We are building functional, and accountable structures at every ward and polling unit. Elections in Osun are won at the grassroots, not just on television.

That’s where APM is putting its energy. Second, we will educate people on why they should resist inducement from the big for nothing political parties and support APM whose agenda is to create jobs, fiscal discipline, infrastructure across the state, housing, youth empowerment. Also, youth engagement is at the heart of our strategy. Osun State is young, vibrant, and ready for change.

We are mobilising first-time voters, educating them, including them, and making them real stakeholders—not just campaign props. I told you before that the aggrieved and women from the big for nothing political parties are joining us, so we are forming alliances every day which will pave way for our party.

What efforts are you making to make the party contest favourably with the APC and Accord Party?

Accord Party has even made the incumbent governor unpopular. APC has not embraced the reality that people do not want them any longer.

We are approaching this strategically, not rhetorically. To compete favourably with these situations at hand, we are building a party that is alive and on ground ward by ward, as well as polling unit by polling unit. Elections in Osun are not won on paper; they are won where people live, work, and gather, and that is where APM is focusing.

We are also running a policy-driven, issue-based campaign. While others rely on recycled promises, we are speaking directly to what matters: jobs, infrastructure, youth empowerment, fiscal discipline, and inclusive governance. That is what voters are listening to, not just names on a ballot. Youth mobilisation is central. Osun is young, energetic, and politically conscious. We have been engaging first-time voters, educating them, and making them active participants in the political process.

They are not side efforts, they are the engine of this campaign. Finally, we are building broad, and principled alliances without compromising our identity. People who are disillusioned by the old parties or left behind in their structures are joining the conversation with us. APM is contesting to win hearts, minds, and votes. We are ready to compete on ideas, credibility, and results, and that is why Osun people will see us as a serious alternative to the status quo.

How would you rate Adeleke’s government in the last three and half years of his administration?

Poor! The recent revelation of an alleged N13.7 billion ghost worker fraud in the state civil service and government harbouring the fraud amounts to a vote of no confidence passed by Governor Ademola Adeleke in his own administration.

Adeleke’s administration has been presiding over a deeply compromised payroll system, but I want to say that APM remains committed to restoring integrity, transparency and responsible governance in the state ahead of the 2026 governorship election.

But the governor has embarked on massive infrastructural development, it seems your rating is about hatred?

No! Fact speaks for itself. Those infrastructure are not evenly distributed; they are largely in his hometown; Ede. He did over 80 kilometres road only in his hometown. The bridges he is constructing failed integrity test. The Oke-Fia flyover exposed Adeleke government’s waste. The continued closure of Oke-Fia Bridge without any traffic disruption has exposed the project as an expensive mistake and a grand waste of public funds.

I challenge Adeleke government to immediately publish the full list of projects executed under both the N100 billion and N150 billion plans, including the names of the contractors and the exact contract sums. Osun people will not be fooled by inducements or propaganda ahead of the next election. APM and the people of Osun State will resist any attempt to use state resources to buy a second term. Osun is not a cash cow. Osun deserves real development, not a decorative bridge.