Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has blasted his predecessor, Rauf Aregbesola, describing his eight-year tenure as the worst in Osun’s history.
This is in response to Aregbesola’s statement on Sunday while addressing supporters of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Osogbo.
DAILY POST recalls that Aregbesola had boasted that the ADC would dislodge the Adeleke-led administration from the government house come 2026.
Responding in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, on Monday, Adeleke said Aregbesola has no moral ground to speak, accusing him of leaving behind a legacy of hardship, financial mismanagement, and institutional decay.
“The empty boast of Mr. Aregbesola about 2026 is a symptom of a troubled mind battling his benefactor and haunted by the suffering he inflicted on millions of Osun people through his evil policies and programmes,” Adeleke said.
He accused Aregbesola of mismanaging workers’ welfare by introducing the controversial half salary policy, misusing contributory pension funds, and withholding cooperative deductions from civil servants.
“A man who should be remorseful and tender public apologies for his years of maladministration has the audacity to attack a Governor who is paying up the half salary affliction, clearing unjustified debts, and rehabilitating brutalized Osun workers,” the governor added.
Adeleke disclosed that his administration has so far paid 28 months of the half salaries owed by Aregbesola’s administration and has also cleared close to N60 billion in pension debt, criticizing Aregbesola for plunging the state into a cycle of unsustainable debt, which he said is still affecting Osun’s financial health today.
The governor, while describing Aregbesola as a shrew who doesn’t realize he’s smelling, warned that 2026 will be a payback year, where Osun voters will reject the return of what he termed the dark days of Aregbesola’s rule.
The war of words between the former and current governors signals an early start to the political contest ahead of the 2026 Osun governorship election.
