The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been accused of struggling to overcome the legacy of its alleged governance failures between 2018 and 2022.
According to Governor Ademola Adeleke’s spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, the party’s past performance continues to haunt its current stance on the state’s progress.
Rasheed made the comments in response to a statement released by the APC on the occasion of Governor Adeleke’s birthday. He claimed that during its tenure, the APC subjected workers and pensioners to hardship and failed to deliver good governance across the state.
“From November 2022 to date, the story of Osun changed for the better as the birthday man, Governor Adeleke, through his five point agenda delivered on workers’ welfare, infrastructure upgrade, sports development, health access, citizen empowerment, debt reduction, education advancement and completion of several abandoned projects,” Rasheed stated.
He further noted that Adeleke’s administration has gained both local and international recognition for its approach to leadership.
“From late 2022 to date, the Governor has received multiple unsolicited awards on good governance from local and international organisations and from reputable national newspapers. The shame is obviously too much for the Osun APC, hence its concoction of lies and disinformation on the occasion of the Governor’s birthday,” the statement read.
Reflecting on the APC’s tenure, Rasheed described it as “a monumental disaster” and pointed to Osun State’s previous poor ranking in national education assessments and its high debt profile—issues he claimed Adeleke has worked hard to correct.
“The National Examination Council recently rated Osun as number seven from its 33rd position under the APC government. Is that not a sign of good governance and success story under Governor Adeleke?” he asked.
“The Debt Management Office recently released a report that Osun has reduced its debt stock by 40 percent under Governor Adeleke. Is that not commendable and a marked difference from what was obtainable under the APC government?” Rasheed added.
He also referenced growing admiration for Adeleke’s leadership—even within APC ranks.
“A top APC leader from Ijeshaland recently declared that Governor Adeleke’s performance is unprecedented in the history of Osun state. He spoke the minds of the silent majority of APC members in Osun who mostly dismissed anti-Adeleke press releases from equally disturbed media teams,” he stated.
The spokesperson highlighted ongoing reforms in worker and pensioner welfare under the current government.
“Osun pensioners now enjoy free health care access alongside billions of naira already paid for their pensions and gratuities. Half salaries are being liquidated and Osun workers now enjoy their due entitlements on promotions and service wide training.”
He further claimed that Osun civil servants are strongly backing the governor’s second-term ambitions.
“Osun workers recently endorsed Mr Governor for a second term and they listed their reasons. Several segments of the Osun society streamed to the Government House with resounding testimony of good governance. They vowed never to be taken back to the tortuous era of APC governance,” Rasheed declared.
In closing, Rasheed acknowledged President Bola Tinubu’s goodwill message to Governor Adeleke, and criticised the state APC’s refusal to acknowledge the administration’s cross-party endorsements.
“We can only advise the state APC to surrender ahead of 2026. Imagine a party so unelectable as to be propping up a man who sold Osun bank to a ponzi scheme, who denied Osun workers their pension and salaries and under whose watch several lives are being lost due to lack of innovations and competency?” he said.