The political scene in Osun State grew tense on Tuesday, the 29th of July, 2025, as a public war of words erupted between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, over alleged plans to rig the 2026 governorship election.
In a statement signed by Osun PDP Chairman, Sunday Bisi, the party accused the former governor of trying to manipulate federal institutions in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and suppress the people’s choice at the polls.
Bisi declared, “The Osun State chapter of the PDP is alarmed by several media reports of inciting statements credited to the Minister concerning his role in the withholding of local government allocations and plans to thwart the will of the electorate.”
The party linked its claims to comments allegedly made by Oyetola during a closed-door APC caucus meeting the previous Friday, suggesting he had laid out tactics involving federal influence to swing the upcoming election.
According to the PDP, Oyetola had lamented the APC’s loss in 2022, blaming it on former President Buhari’s refusal to instruct the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Police to favour the party.
The PDP further alleged that Oyetola claimed, “he had secured the cooperation of INEC and the Police for the 2026 election.”
He was also accused of saying: “The Attorney General is working on a loophole that will allow the withheld local government funds to be released to the court-sacked APC chairmen and councillors. Otherwise, the Osun State withheld funds will not be released until after the Gubernatorial Election in 2026.”
Bisi said Oyetola admitted to preventing Governor Ademola Adeleke from crossing over to the APC, seeing it as a potential threat to internal party ambitions.
The Minister reportedly linked his political moves to promises made to President Bola Tinubu to reclaim Osun for the APC.
Bisi described these alleged remarks as harmful to democratic values and called on President Tinubu to launch an investigation and take appropriate action against Oyetola.
“We call on President Tinubu to direct the Attorney General to obey a Court of Appeal judgment recognising the PDP’s elected local government chairmen.
“We waited for more than 48 hours expecting a denial, but the Minister has remained silent. The lack of response implies authenticity of the statements,” Bisi said.
The PDP demanded the immediate release of withheld local government allocations, warning against their use as political tools in the lead-up to the election.
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Bisi added that the PDP would firmly resist all efforts to manipulate the electoral process, insisting that Governor Adeleke will win again in 2026 based on his track record and public support.
Responding, Dr. Bolaji Akinola, the Minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, strongly rejected the allegations, describing them as fabrications by a party afraid of losing its grip.
He said: “At no point did the Honourable Minister threaten to rig any election. He remains a firm believer in democracy and the rule of law.”
Akinola labelled the PDP’s claims as “reckless propaganda” by a party that senses a decline in public favour as 2026 approaches.
He stressed that the Minister has no influence over INEC, the Police, or the Attorney General, and dismissed the “federal might” narrative as insulting to the public’s intelligence.
According to the APC, the PDP was only trying to divert attention from its failings in Osun and use international attention to fuel a baseless accusation.
Akinola challenged the PDP to provide actual proof audio, video, or documented minutes of the meeting to back up their claims.
“We urge the good people of Osun to ignore the distractions of the PDP and stay focused on the mission to restore competent, people-oriented governance in 2026,” he concluded.