Former Osun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Sunday Akere, has stated that the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, would defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State if the All Progressives Congress handed him the governorship ticket.
Akere spoke in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Thursday while featuring on a programme organised by the League of Veteran Journalists, Osun State chapter.
The ex-commissioner noted that numerous competent individuals within the Osun APC are well-positioned to contest as candidates in the 2026 governorship election.
However, he noted that Oyetola holds the right of first refusal, being the candidate of the party in the last poll, adding that the achievements recorded by the APC administration led by the immediate past governor would make it easier for him to win if fielded by his party.
Insisting that the Oyetola administration was not anti-workers, Akere stated that, within the resources available to him, the ex-governor did quite well, delivering quality public administration to the people of the state.
Akere said, “If Oyetola is fielded in 2026, he will beat the PDP hands down. Oyetola was never an enemy of civil servants. For the 48 months of his rule, there was no civil protest from any student.
“Oyetola paid a bursary to 3,100 students, and he never made a fuss about it, unlike someone who is spending N100 million now when they have taken N300 billion in revenue since they came to government about 23 months ago.
“What they have taken in 23 months is what Oyetola got for the entire 48 months of his reign, and there was never a single protest.
“Oyetola never interfered in the leadership choices of any tertiary institution in Osun. He never said those who were qualified should be denied for one reason or another. He would never encourage any illegality.”
Speaking on the quality and cost of projects being executed by the current administration in the state, Akere noted that low-quality projects were being carried out for a huge amount, stressing that better-quality projects were delivered by the immediate past administration for a lesser amount.
Reacting, the Director of Media and Publicity in the Osun PDP, Oladele Bamiji, stated that his party would defeat whoever is presented by the APC in the 2026 poll, as the people of Osun still believe in the capacity of the current ruling party in the state to deliver good governance.
Bamiji said, “Whoever they bring in 2026, Governor Ademola Adeleke and the PDP will defeat that person thoroughly. We are not bragging. The people of Osun will not go back to the failures of past years. Governor Adeleke is delivering on the mandate given to him, and the people are happy with him. So, let them bring Oyetola or any other person; Governor Adeleke and the PDP will record a massive victory.
“Mr Akere also spoke about receiving a bigger allocation now. Why is he not considering the value of the allocation when the pump price was less than N200, and now that the APC government has raised the pump price to a level most people can no longer afford?
“Also, is he an engineer, or has he conducted research on our projects to determine their quality? It is obvious they are still bitter that Governor Adeleke ended their reign. Osun is not receiving an extraordinary allocation at present, yet Adeleke has performed beyond expectations. Our projects are of the best quality; there is no contest about that.”
Peoplesmind
