2026: Beyond APC, PDP, Aregbesola bets on ADC to takeover Osun

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

Barely three years after exiting office as Nigeria’s Minister of Interior and almost seven years since leaving office as Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola is back and not quietly. Declaring a full-fledged political comeback under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Aregbesola is positioning his new party as a potent alternative to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of Osun’s 2026 governorship election.

The former governor’s re-entry was unveiled during a welcome rally held at Oranmiyan House in Osogbo recently.

Addressing an enthusiastic crowd in Yoruba, Aregbesola, who is the Interim National Secretary of the ADC, declared boldly that the party is fully prepared to take over governance in Osun State come 2026.

The former minister said, “What really concerns me presently is the 2026 gubernatorial election. I am confident we will win the election, and the sign is good. I want to appeal to every one of you to start campaigning from door to door. Don’t fight anyone. What we need is for people to join our party. Before the election, they must know they are no longer relevant. The people want us. God stands with us in Osun State.”

However, Aregbesola’s renewed ambition drew a swift and fierce resistance, especially from the sitting governor, Ademola Adeleke, who described the eight years rule of the former governor as the worst in the history of the state. Adeleke, through his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, said rather than threaten a comeback, Aregbesola should be remorseful and tender a public apology for his “years of maladministration”.

Adeleke accused Aregbesola of leaving behind “a legacy of huge debt, half salaries, scam learning tablets (Opon Imon) and several fanciful, inflated, uncompleted projects.

“The empty boast of Mr Aregbesola about 2026 is a symptom of a troubled mind who sees a 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. 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.

“Mr Aregbesola’s wickedness against workers, public servants, and Osun people knows no bounds while he wields state power. A man who introduced half salary, misapplied contributory state pension fund and misused state cooperative deductions fund should be ashamed of his temerity to attack a governor who is now paying up the half salary affliction, clearing the unjustified debt and rehabilitating brutalised Osun workers.”

Aregbesola’s media aide, Sola Fasure, in a swift response, said that Adeleke’s attacks were born out of panic after seeing the large crowd at Aregbesola’s rally. “When Governor Adeleke and his people saw the mammoth crowd that turned out to welcome Aregbesola, they knew instantly that the game had changed. That crowd was not rented. It sent panic through the government camp,” he added.

Fasure claimed that Adeleke’s 2022 victory was largely built on the sympathy and support of disenchanted APC members and Aregbesola loyalists who had been sidelined within the party. “

According to him, Adeleke merely inherited a divided APC and rode on the back of that crisis to victory. He stated, “Let’s be truthful about it. Most of those who voted for Adeleke were originally Aregbesola’s supporters who were pushed out of APC. The sympathy votes also came from people who ordinarily would have followed wherever Aregbesola pitched his tent.”

Also reacting, the Omoluabi Progressives, a political group aligned with Aregbesola, condemned what they termed Adeleke’s “distortion” of the past, saying the issue of modulated salaries during Aregbesola’s administration has been deliberately misrepresented by the current state leadership to malign his achievements.

The organising and publicity secretary of the group, Oluwaseun Abosede, described the salary policy as a product of necessity rather than recklessness; the group stated that it was “jointly agreed to by the leadership of civil service unions, government officials, and respected stakeholders”, adding that it was implemented to forestall mass retrenchment amid dwindling national revenue.

While political actors trade words, the public is weighing in, especially on social media. A particular Facebook post dismissed Aregbesola’s comeback as delusional: according to the user, “Aregbesola can never win two local governments in Osun State, let alone take power. Wallahi, you made me laugh; it’s a sure banker for whoever APC presents!”

What’s clear is that Aregbesola’s re-emergence has redrawn the political map of Osun. Whether he and the ADC can convert nostalgia and structure into electoral victory remains to be seen. But for now, one thing is certain: Osun 2026 is no longer a two-horse race; it’s shaping up to be a political war.