ADC chieftain Dele Momodu says the August 15 governorship election is effectively a contest between Governor Ademola Adeleke and President Bola Tinubu’s political influence
African Democratic Congress chieftain Dele Momodu said in Lagos on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, that the August 15 Osun State governorship election is effectively a contest between incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke and President Bola Tinubu, rather than a conventional battle between Adeleke and the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
Also read: 2027: Tinubu is Nigeria’s Worst President Ever, North Will Be Finished If He Wins Again – Baba-Ahmed
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Momodu argued that the APC lacks the political strength to defeat Adeleke on its own and that the influence of the Tinubu-led Federal Government is the more significant factor facing the incumbent.
“The battle in Osun is not a contest between Adeleke and the APC; it is between Adeleke and President Bola Tinubu,” Momodu said.
“APC is no match for Adeleke in Osun. Everybody agrees on that.”
Momodu’s intervention came as campaigning entered its final days, with Adeleke seeking a second term and Oyebamiji attempting to return the APC to power in a state where the party has a substantial political history.
The ADC chieftain’s argument places national influence at the centre of a state election that has increasingly attracted wider political attention.
The APC is the ruling party at the federal level, while Tinubu remains one of the most influential figures in Nigerian politics.
Oyebamiji has himself sought to associate his campaign closely with the President. In June, the APC candidate described himself as Tinubu’s “only anointed candidate” for the Osun election and rejected suggestions that the President had endorsed Adeleke.
That positioning gives Momodu’s argument an important political context.
Rather than dismissing Tinubu’s relevance to the election, his comments effectively acknowledge the strength of the presidential machinery while arguing that Adeleke’s personal political base in Osun remains formidable.
The contest is also unusual because Adeleke is no longer running under the Peoples Democratic Party platform that carried him to victory in 2022.
He is seeking re-election under the Accord Party, while the PDP is absent from the final contest according to recent analyses of the race.
Adeleke’s political resilience was first demonstrated in the 2022 governorship election, when he defeated APC incumbent Gboyega Oyetola.
Adeleke secured 403,371 votes against Oyetola’s 375,027, winning 17 of Osun’s 30 local government areas
That victory followed an earlier near-miss in 2018, when Adeleke initially led Oyetola before the election was declared inconclusive and a supplementary poll handed the APC candidate victory.
The narrow margins of those contests have contributed to Osun’s reputation as one of Nigeria’s more competitive political battlegrounds.
The 2026 campaign has consequently featured competing claims about the strength of the two main camps.
Adeleke has pointed to his administration’s record and grassroots support, while the APC has attacked his performance and presented Oyebamiji as an alternative.
Recent reporting has identified Adeleke and Oyebamiji as the principal contenders, even as other candidates remain in the race.
The atmosphere has not been entirely confrontational. Adeleke and Oyebamiji were recently commended for displaying political maturity at funeral ceremonies for the mother of APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru, an episode that offered a more restrained image of the rivalry amid wider concerns about political tension.
Momodu’s comments nevertheless underline the broader stakes attached to Saturday’s vote. For the APC, a victory would strengthen its hold on a state that it once governed and demonstrate the reach of its federal political structure.
For Adeleke, retaining office would reinforce his personal political standing and demonstrate that his support base can withstand pressure from the governing party at the centre.
The result could also carry implications beyond Osun. The 2026 election is being closely watched as an indication of how Nigeria’s political alignments may develop ahead of the 2027 general elections.
For now, Momodu’s characterisation of the contest is a political assessment, not an established electoral fact.
Also read: 2027: Tinubu is Nigeria’s Worst President Ever, North Will Be Finished If He Wins Again – Baba-Ahmed
Whether Osun voters ultimately view the election through the lens of Adeleke’s record, Oyebamiji’s campaign or Tinubu’s national influence will be decided at the ballot box on August 15.
