Leadnaija
Spokesperson for Osun Governor Olawale Rasheed, on Monday, said the All Progressives Congress in the state should perish the thought that President Bola Tinubu would help it to win the 2026 governorship poll in the state.
Rasheed was reacting to an assertion credited to the immediate past Speaker of the House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, whom he accused of referring to Adeleke as a ‘caretaker governor’ during an interview aired on a private radio station in Osogbo.
But Osun APC spokesperson Mr. Kola Olabisi, in reaction, said Olawale’s belief that Tinubu’s influence won’t help APC win the poll was an indication that Adeleke’s men have been seized by fear.
Olabisi subsequently declared that no matter the antics of the ruling party in Osun, APC would end Adeleke’s reign in the next election.
Speaking further on Owoeye’s comment on Adeleke, Osun Governor’s spokesperson said the ex-speaker should offer a public apology to the governor, noting the statement was unacceptable for someone of the ex-lawmaker’s calibre.
“I think the former speaker should do a retraction and publicly apologise because he said what he said on a public radio station.
What Owoeye said is very wrong. Governor Adeleke was popularly elected by the people. There were litigations on his election up till the Supreme Court and the Apex Court validated his election, and he is in the seat administering well and delivering dividends of democracy to all and sundry.
“Apart from the fact that what Owoeye said flies on the face of legal fact, it flies in the face of the fact that he is a beneficiary of the same man he is calling a caretaker governor. My conclusion is that Owoeye is troubled because the dualisation of the Palace-Brewery road junction, which their administration could not do for 12 years, has been done and is almost completed by Adeleke.
“If it is about 2026, Owoeye should rest assured that the Osun people are very enlightened now. They’ve seen what governance is all about. They’ve seen the difference between the current administration and the past ones, and they are ready to defend their votes. If anybody is thinking they will use federal might to come and rig, President Bola Tinubu is not ready to help anybody to rig. Mr President is a Democrat. The best you can do is to go and campaign,” Rasheed said.
But Olabisi, while defending the ex-speaker, said what the former lawmaker meant by referring to Adeleke as a caretaker governor was not correctly interpreted, explaining that the APC chieftain used the assertion to indicate that the incumbent Osun helmsman’s reign would be terminated by the opposition in the next governorship election.
He further said, “It’s sad that such a reaction can be coming from the government because the meaning of any word spoken at any particular point in time is not total. What the former speaker meant by saying Ademola Adeleke is running a caretaker government is that the government will be removed legitimately by our votes during the next election.
“That was what the speaker said, and that should not be a concern to someone who does not have any ulterior motive. If they want the former speaker to applaud their government, they are making a mistake.”
Regarding the declaration that Tinubu would not assist Osun APC, Olabisi said the claim was borne out of jitters.
“Saying President Tinubu will not help anyone to win election shows that they are jittery and afraid of their shadow. We thank God that President Tinubu is the leader of APC in this country today, and whatever affects the party in Osun will not spare the whole.
“So, part of his constituency is Osun State. If he comes here to campaign for us, in a way, you know he is supporting us in order to ensure that we win the election. It is going to be his joy to see that we win that election,” Olabisi said.
