The Osun State APC governorship campaign council and Governor Ademola Adeleke’s Imole campaign council have traded bitter accusations over the governor’s recent statement threatening that a repeat of the 1983 political crisis could occur if he loses the August 15 election.
The APC, in a statement by its Director General, Wole Oke, accused Adeleke of making disparaging and unfounded allegations against President Bola Tinubu, including a false claim that the President was withholding federal allocations due to the 30 local government areas in Osun State. The party described the statements as “false, distasteful, irresponsible, and completely unsubstantiated,” and a manifestation of the governor’s frustration over an impending electoral defeat.
The APC also accused Adeleke of blackmailing the President and attempting to demonise a “genuine democrat.” The party claimed that since 2022, no fewer than 30 members and supporters of the APC have been killed by Accord thugs believed to be sponsored by the governor’s administration, with at least 10 of those deaths occurring recently.
The Accord campaign council, however, denied the accusations, insisting that Adeleke only called the President’s attention to the “ongoing repression and intimidation of Osun residents” and urged him to call the Marine Minister, Gboyega Oyetola, to order. The council claimed that seven Accord members had been killed and over 20 suffered gun injuries in the last three months, while more than 60 Accord members are in illegal police detentions.
The Imole campaign council stated that at no point did the governor attack or deride the President, and that his remarks at the event referenced the Osun local government crisis in which over N350 billion of local government funds had been diverted.
The APC also accused Adeleke of fuelling, promoting, and bankrolling political violence, and questioned why the state Government House had become a refuge for wanted political hoodlums. The party reminded the governor that his endorsement of Tinubu for 2027 was not forced on him and does not exempt him from a free and fair contest.