- Safiu Kehinde
Mallam Olawale Rasheed, the spokesperson to Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has debunked alleged agreement between the governor and President Bola Tinubu to secure his re-election at the just concluded 2026 Osun Gubernatorial Election.
Rasheed reiterated that Adeleke’s re-election was hard-earned.
The Osun governor’s aide made this known while speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show programme on Tuesday.
Reacting to claim of Adeleke having an agreement with Tinubu to avoid engagement of federal might by the All Progressives Congress, Rasheed held that there was no agreement between the duo, stressing that the APC deployed federal might in the course of the election.
He cited the presence of all APC governors in Osun during campaign and the heavy deployment of security personnel during the election as evidence of federal might.
‘Mr. Governor said there is no agreement between him and the presidency.
‘You yourself will agree with me that pre-election and even during election, you feel the federal presence.
‘We have almost 20 governors here. We have one commissioner of police per local government. We have deployment of military. Osun was like militarlised.’ He said.
Rasheed maintained that Adeleke’s victory was hard-won with the massive support of Osun people who came out to vote.
‘What happened during election, people came out and defy all odds and voted and they voted for Imole. So, there is no agreement. The victory was hard-won.
‘The governor worked for its and the Osun people battled for it. And eventually, what you have is the will of the people prevailing.
‘The governor won in local government he has never won before. Osun people stood up for their right to vote and be voted.’ He said.
Reacting to backlash over Adeleke’s endorsement of Tinubu’s re-election, the governor’s media aide, noted that Adeleke’s endorsement of the president predated the election and even his defection to the Accord Party.
According to him, the governor had long endorsed Tinubu for five reasons which includes development focus.
‘When Mr. Gov was in PDP, the endorsement was announced.
‘When he crossed to Accord Party, the endorsement was announced. The endorsement predates this election victory. The political space is aware that Mr. Governor has endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
‘And the Governor explained the reasons why he is endorsing the president.
‘He talked about developmental focus, the need to attract Federal presence, the need to get most of the federal roads in Osun and federal projects done, and the need to support a man that is on the seat that can do this for us.’ He said.
Rasheed revealed that the endorsement has yielded positive result as several federal projects are now undergoing construction and renovation in the state.
He urged the aggrieved members of the public not to feel betrayed by the endorsement.
‘As a consequence of that endorsement, Osun now have Ilesa-Ibadan Road being worked on. We have Osogbo-Ibadan Road being awarded. Already, work has started.
‘We have Gbogan to Osogbo already awarded. The governor is looking at backing the man on the seat for several reasons and these predates our election.
‘People should not feel betrayed, Mr. Governor is only doing the right thing that is in the best interest of Osun.’ He said.
On the APC’s plan to challenge the Osun election result, Rasheed reiterated Adeleke’s message of reconciliation as he urged the opposition party to accept the governor’s olive branch.
‘The governor has been passing a message that there is no winner no vanquished. We are all winners.
‘When somthing like this happen, you expect agitation from the other camps.
‘It was tough, it took lives and people were injured.
‘Ordinarily, we expect the opposition, the APC, and all other people to accept the olive branch and join hands with Mr.Governor and join hands with Mr. Governor to take Osun to bigger height.’ He said.