Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has fired back at former Governor Rauf Aregbesola, warning that indigenes and residents of the state have not forgotten the hardship associated with his time in office.
Reacting to Aregbesola’s claim that his new party, the Action Democratic Congress (ADC), would unseat the current administration in 2026, Adeleke described the former governor’s record as “the worst in Osun history.”
Through his spokesperson, Rasheed Olawale, on Monday, July 14, Governor Adeleke said, “2026 is a payback time when Osun people will punish the former Governor and his new party for wilfully inflicting pains and suffering on Osun people throughout his eight years administration.”
He said Aregbesola should be apologising for the years of hardship under his leadership, not making political threats.
“The empty boast of Mr Aregbesola about 2026 is a symptom of a troubled mind who sees wrong vision, who is battling his benefactor and who is haunted by the pains and suffering he inflicted on millions of Osun people through his evil policies and programmes,” Olawale stated.
“A man who should be remorseful and tender public apologies for his years of maladministration has the audacity to threaten Governor Adeleke, who is clearing the mess he left behind after his eight years of anti-people, thoughtless leadership.”
Olawale pointed to Adeleke’s efforts to clean up the financial mess left by Aregbesola, including the payment of salary and pension arrears.
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“The Adeleke administration has paid 28 months out of the half salary left behind by Mr Aregbesola and close to ₦60 billion in pension debt, a legacy of this same Aregbesola,” he said.
Taking a swipe at Aregbesola’s infrastructure record, the statement challenged him to assess Adeleke’s achievements.
“If Mr Aregbesola is to accuse Governor Adeleke of non-performance, we await his review of the dualization of palace to brewery junction at Ilesa which he failed to achieve while in office.
“He should check out the flyover projects at Ile Ife and Osogbo and the dualization projects ongoing at Iwo among others,” Olawale said.
He concluded by insisting that Osun voters have not forgotten the hardship under Aregbesola.
“Our people are smart enough to know that the worst era for Osun State is that of Mr Aregbesola, under whom many pensioners lost their lives, thousands of lives were disrupted, and the state plunged into unsustainable debt that is still hurting the state till date. No voter in Osun is ready for a return to the dark days,” the statement added.