Osun State Governor and Accord Party governorship candidate, Ademola Adeleke, has urged residents to vote against the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 15 August governorship election, accusing the opposition of neglecting civil servants during its time in office.
In a post on X on Thursday, Adeleke alleged that workers in the state suffered hardship under the previous APC administration and called on eligible voters to support his re-election bid. He wrote that the state would not return to a period when civil servants had to beg neighbours for food. He described those who once paid workers half salaries and left them struggling to feed their families as desperate to return and inflict further pain.
“On August 15, I urge every eligible voter to send a clear and resounding message that Osun has chosen the path of progress, compassion, and good governance,” he said. “Together, we will protect the mandate of the people and keep Osun moving forward ACCORDINGLY.”
In a separate post, the governor defended his administration’s record on workers’ welfare, stating that civil servants had remained a priority since he assumed office. He expressed confidence that the recent freezing of state accounts would only strengthen the resolve of residents to prevent a return to what he called the era of darkness. The choice, he said, was progress over regression and good governance over neglect.
The Osun governorship election is scheduled for 15 August, with Adeleke seeking another term on the Accord Party platform. The messaging follows a familiar pattern in Nigerian state politics: the incumbent frames the contest as a binary choice between continuity of current welfare priorities and a return to past hardship. By focusing on civil servants’ experiences under the previous administration, Adeleke is appealing directly to a constituency whose daily economic conditions often shape voting decisions.
Whether the narrative of past neglect versus present prioritisation persuades voters will depend on how widely the claimed improvements in worker welfare are felt on the ground. The election will test the strength of that contrast against the APC’s own counter-narrative in the final days of campaigning.
