Osun poll rigging fears grow as Governor Ademola Adeleke accuses APC of plans to undermine Saturday’s election and vows to protect voters’ rights
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke on Sunday, 9 August 2026, in Osogbo accused Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress of threatening the credibility of the Saturday, 15 August governorship election, following comments by Oyetola that Adeleke interpreted as a warning of an attempt to take control of the state.
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The accusation came less than a week before voters across Osun are due to choose their governor, with the Independent National Electoral Commission listing the governorship election for 15 August 2026.
Adeleke made the allegation in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, in Osogbo on Sunday.
The governor was responding to comments Oyetola made on Saturday while addressing APC stakeholders and supporters in Osun.
Oyetola, a former governor of the state, lost his re-election bid to Adeleke in the closely contested 2022 governorship election.
During the APC gathering, Oyetola urged Adeleke to prepare for defeat in the forthcoming election and argued that the governor’s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election would not prevent the APC from reclaiming Osun.
The remarks followed allegations by Adeleke that APC members and Accord Party leaders were being intimidated ahead of the poll.
Speaking in Yoruba, Oyetola suggested that Adeleke’s complaints reflected an awareness that his political influence in the state was weakening.
“They realised that they are already losing out. Then they claimed to have endorsed us. He almost cried. Endorsement cannot retain this seat for you. We are taking it over,” Oyetola said.
“If you like, make 10 endorsements, we will collect this one from you.”
Adeleke interpreted the remarks as an “open threat” to the integrity of the election and called on democracy advocates and other stakeholders to pay close attention to the development.
The governor urged the relevant authorities and stakeholders to ensure that the people of Osun are allowed to determine their next governor freely.
At the centre of Adeleke’s response was Oyetola’s Yoruba expression, “A maa gba lowo e”, which translates as “we will snatch it from him”.
Adeleke argued that the expression should not be dismissed as ordinary campaign rhetoric, describing it instead as an indication that the APC could be preparing to undermine the electoral process.
The governor also linked his endorsement of Tinubu for a second term in 2027 to what he described as his political strength and ability to mobilise support for the President in Osun.
He accused Oyetola of undermining Tinubu’s political image through actions that, in his view, could further weaken the APC’s standing among Osun residents.
“Oyetola’s anti-people, anti-democracy activities are tarnishing the image of Mr President and deepening the unpopularity of Osun APC among voters and residents,” Adeleke said.
He described Oyetola’s comments as particularly troubling because the minister remains a serving member of the Federal Executive Council.
“A serving minister of the Republic had made an open threat against a free and fair election,” Adeleke said.
The governor went further, alleging that the comments confirmed previous reports that the Osun APC had lost the confidence of voters and was therefore focused on manipulating the election.
The allegations have not been established as fact, and the available accounts do not show that the APC has announced a plan to rig the election.
The political exchange instead reflects the increasingly heated contest between Adeleke and Oyetola, whose political rivalry dates back to the 2022 governorship election.
Adeleke also accused Oyetola of making light of alleged attacks against Accord Party supporters during the election period.
“The minister has made a mockery of innocent Accord members who were killed and maimed by APC thugs in cold blood in the last two months,” Adeleke alleged.
He further accused Oyetola of seeking to deny citizens their constitutional rights to vote and contest elections.
The claims concerning attacks on Accord supporters are allegations made by Adeleke and were not independently established in the supplied account.
Despite the increasingly sharp rhetoric, Adeleke said he remained confident that voters would resist any attempt to interfere with the electoral process.
“The bad news for the minister is that Osun people are determined to resist his sadistic agenda,” the governor said.
Adeleke pointed to the 2022 election as evidence of his confidence, recalling that Osun voters had rejected Oyetola then.
“Our people rejected him in 2022, and they will reject his surrogate candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, next Saturday,” he said.
Oyetola’s APC is backing Bola Oyebamiji in the 15 August contest, while Adeleke is seeking another term in office.
The governor also rejected any suggestion that his political calculations had been weakened by his decision to endorse Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election.
Instead, Adeleke presented the endorsement as evidence of his ability to mobilise political support and argued that it would strengthen his influence rather than determine the outcome of the governorship race.
“As for us, we are winning this election by the grace of God and mass support of the people,” he said.
“We are not going to snatch the democratic rights of the people as Mr Oyetola had threatened. We will be re-elected by the choice of the voters.”
With the election now only days away, the exchange has added a fresh and potentially consequential layer to an already intense campaign.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has confirmed 15 August as the date of the Osun governorship election and has been preparing political parties, observers and other stakeholders for the poll.
For Adeleke, the immediate concern is electoral credibility and the protection of voters’ choices.
For Oyetola and the APC, the campaign message remains focused on defeating the incumbent and reclaiming the state.
The decisive voice, however, will belong to Osun voters when they go to the polls on Saturday.
Until then, allegations of intimidation, warnings about electoral interference and competing claims of popular support are likely to remain central to the final days of the campaign.
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What began as a dispute over Oyetola’s comments has therefore developed into a broader argument about trust, political power and the credibility of the 2026 Osun governorship election.
