Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has accused Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, of becoming increasingly fixated on his predecessor as the August 15 governorship election draws closer.
Oyetola, who served as Osun governor before Adeleke, said the incumbent’s repeated attribution of the state’s challenges to his administration was an indication of political frustration and declining support ahead of the poll.
Speaking to All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters in Osun State at the weekend, Oyetola expressed confidence that the party’s candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO), would defeat Adeleke in the election.
The minister dismissed the relevance of endorsements secured by Adeleke, particularly those involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, arguing that political endorsements alone could not determine the outcome of an election.
According to him, the APC remains confident of victory regardless of the number of endorsements received by the incumbent governor.
“They realise that their support base has been emptied. No amount of endorsement will guarantee his re-election. We will defeat him,” Oyetola said.
He also criticised what he described as Adeleke’s tendency to blame him for virtually every challenge confronting the state.
Oyetola said he was unperturbed by the governor’s criticisms, describing the repeated references to him as evidence that Adeleke was preoccupied with his predecessor instead of focusing on governance.
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“He is perplexed, but he will blame me for everything. If he sleeps and dreams, he will claim I appeared to him in his dream,” he said.
The former governor added that he had deliberately avoided engaging Adeleke’s criticisms, insisting that he was focused on his responsibilities at the federal level and the APC’s campaign ahead of the election.
“Meanwhile, I never have his time. He is just troubling himself. If we have time for him, he will feel it. We are not even looking at his direction,” Oyetola said.
The comments come amid heightened political activity in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election, with the APC seeking to wrest power from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration.
