The preparation for the 2026 Osun State gubernatorial election is heating up, as a former governor and current Minister of Marine & Blue economy, Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola is set to contest for Osun governorship election despite his current post as Minister. Don’t forget that he was Governor of Osun State from 2018 to 2022 before he lost his second term election to the current governor Ademola Adeleke.
The big news is that Mr Oyetola has been reaching out to top politicians in the Osun political arena. He plans to re-contest in the upcoming guber election slated for 2026 against Governor Adeleke. This is not going down well with some prominent Osun politicians, who think the ticket should be given to a new person.
City People spoke with some of Mr Oyetola’s close allies and they said categorically that he’s coming back! According to one of them who pleaded for anonimity, said some key APC politicians in Osun who are friends and loyal to the former governor and had the intention to run for the juicy post can’t vie for it because they believe he still running in 2026. Although, many of them are not totally pleased but they can’t contest against him.
Lately, there have been moves by the former governor to reach out to key APC stakeholders in the state to intimate them of his intention. We were told that some of these steps are going on underground to sensitize major stakeholders at the various grassroots about 2026.
Again, a few days ago, there was a special prayer for Mr Oyetola by his loyalists. We learned that the concerned loyalists were disturbed about the increasing unpopularity of Oyetola and the way people have been rejecting his choice for the 2026 governorship election. That was why some APC members organized a special victory prayer for Oyetola for him to secure the ticket of the party and win the governorship election.
The prayer was organized by Osun Non-Returned Caretaker Councillors, a political group within the state APC, in Osogbo, last week Monday. Chairman of the group, Hon. Maroof Salam said the prayer session was a testament to the strong bond and solidarity within the Osun APC on Oyetola’s aspirations.
Salam assured the former governor of their loyalty and commitment towards his 2026 ambition.
But it was speculated that some top politicians feel the former governor should give other people the opportunity to contest in the coming guber election in the state. Some members of the popular APC Ileri Oluwa caucus in Osun State have concluded plans to reject the candidacy of former Governor Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, if he decides to contest the 2026 governorship election in the state. They said the former governor is testing water with some of his recent moves.
The group had argued that Osogbo is next. Why?
They also recommended the selection of either the National Secretary of the APC, Dr. Ajibola Basiru or the Executive Director, Marine and Operations of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Engr. Lekan Badmus as candidates ahead of the 2026 contest. Both Basiru and Badmus are from Osogbo, the state capital, which has not produced a Governor since the inception of the state over three decades ago.
Don’t forget that, Mr Oyetola is the leader of the party in the state and his influence will play a major role in who becomes the flagbearer for the party in the 2026 gubernatorial election. And he has been talking tough ahead of 2026.
Just last week, Oyetola, the immediate past governor of the state, spoke at a rally organised to receive PDP ex-National Deputy Chairman, Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun and ex-governorship aspirant on the platform of PDP, Mr Dotun Babayemi and their supporters into APC.
The ex-Osun State governor, who expressed confidence in the party winning the state in the next governorship election, said the defection into the party by Babayemi and his people was an indication that more people from the ruling party would join APC from the PDP before 2026 gubernatorial poll.
He further said, “It is an irony that we lost an election over a year ago and there has been no major defection from the party. What we have is the reverse. It is the ruling party that is coming to us, which shows that APC remains a party to beat. We have done so well, and people are starting to see that when it comes to governance, the progressive knows how to deliver.
The way President Tinubu has been governing us, that is what the APC governors in their respective states have been doing. I am delighted by the fact that we are not just getting anybody, but people of substance. Like Baba Suaibu, he is a veteran member of the PDP, decamping to the APC. It shows that PDP doesn’t exist any longer here.
“I am confident that in 2026, we are going to take over the state. This is just the beginning because several people are willing to come back to us, and a lot of political heavyweights are coming to join us. I welcome Dotun Babayemi and Alhaji Suiabu Oyedokun to the progressives,” he said.
-ISAAC ABIMBADE