In an interview with Yusuf Oketola, Olajengbesi said Adeleke’s re-election confirmed the genuine support he enjoys among Osun residents.
“Adeleke’s victory is a reflection of the desire of the people of the state. It is the will of the people that Adeleke returns as governor for the second term, having performed excellently well,” he stated.
He highlighted what he called unprecedented attention to infrastructure and the welfare of the state’s workforce, adding that “in the history of Osun State, we haven’t had a governor who has worked very well like Adeleke in the area of infrastructure.”
Olajengbesi firmly rejected suggestions that Adeleke’s endorsement of President Tinubu for a second term in 2027 contributed to the victory.
“The governor’s endorsement of Tinubu does not have anything to do with his victory. Adeleke is a very popular candidate. The people of Osun State voted for him. Tinubu did not provide any support to Adeleke,” he said.
He claimed the All Progressives Congress (APC) backed its own candidate with resources and deployed “the instrumentalities and machinery of government against the state government.”
Referring to reactions from Davido (David Adeleke), the spokesperson said the family received “no goodwill” from the federal level and that the governor “won the election on his own popularity and on the goodwill of the people of Osun.”
Addressing criticism of the endorsement, Olajengbesi said support for Tinubu remained a matter of individual choice for Osun people, but many retained strong faith in Adeleke.
He argued that the president’s economic policies had improved funding for states, enabling better payment of salaries and more infrastructural projects nationwide.
“Before Tinubu’s emergence, most of the state governments were suffering. They found it very hard to pay salaries… But Mr President has been able to turn the economy around,” he noted.
While acknowledging that some residents felt dissatisfied because of alleged intimidation and harassment by federal authorities during the election, Olajengbesi insisted the people ultimately prevailed and would likely follow the governor’s political direction.
On widespread claims that the Osun election was heavily monetised, Olajengbesi maintained that the Accord Party neither distributed nor bought votes. “Accord Party did not distribute, share or buy a single vote.
The election was won by the party with the support of the people of the state,” he said. He alleged that the APC paid as much as ₦50,000 per vote in his constituency and that voters collected the money but still cast their ballots for Adeleke.
He further claimed the APC deployed between ₦60 billion and ₦110 billion in cash, some of it transported by private jet in newly minted ₦1,000 notes allegedly sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Olajengbesi said he was personally writing to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to demand an investigation “for the sake of posterity,” noting reports of internal crisis within the APC over how the funds were spent.
The comments come days after the August 15 poll, which returned Adeleke for a second term amid competing narratives about the role of federal influence, campaign finance and voter choice in the outcome.
By: Ismaeel Aleem