Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has dismissed the growing political weight being mobilised behind the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, daring the ruling party to deploy every governor it can muster ahead of the election.
Adeleke, the Accord Party candidate, said he was not intimidated by alleged Federal Government backing for his opponent or the governors campaigning for the APC, insisting that political heavyweights would not cast a single ballot for the people of Osun.
“If they like, they should bring all the governors,” Adeleke said on Tuesday during the Arise Townhall Meeting.
The governor described himself as a “bulldozer” and said his record of administration had given him the confidence to confront what he portrayed as a formidable political machine.
“I am a bulldozer. I am talk and do. I am not afraid of federal might and governors backing the APC candidate,” he said.
Adeleke dismissed the political significance of governors appearing at campaign events for his opponent, saying their presence would amount largely to political theatre.
“Those governors are my friends. I am a civilised administrator. They won’t vote; they can only come and dance, and after the election, we will meet,” he said.
His comments come as the Osun governorship race enters a more aggressive phase, with the major parties intensifying campaigns, grassroots mobilisation and efforts to deploy national political influence ahead of the poll.
Adeleke rejects militarisation allegation
The governor also rejected allegations that his administration had militarised the state, arguing that he lacked the constitutional authority to deploy the armed forces.
“I did not militarise Osun. I have no such capacity. I am not the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,” Adeleke said.
The allegation has emerged amid the increasingly heated political atmosphere surrounding the election, with rival camps trading accusations over the conduct and security implications of the campaign.
But Adeleke’s central message was defiance: that neither Abuja’s influence nor the presence of powerful political allies would determine who wins Osun.
His challenge to the APC effectively reduces the contest to a battle between political machinery and voter power.
And Adeleke appears confident that when the governors leave the campaign platforms and voters enter the polling units, the final verdict will belong to Osun electorate.