The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of allegedly spending N172 million in state funds to secure endorsements for a second term from labour unions in the state.
The party described the development as a gross misuse of public resources and a desperate attempt to project popularity through “forced loyalty.”
In a press statement issued on May 1, 2025, and signed by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, the APC claimed that the financial inducement was shared among factional leaders of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to facilitate Adeleke’s adoption at the May Day celebration held in Osogbo.
According to the statement, NULGE received N97 million while the NLC and TUC shared N75 million. The party alleged that this move was part of a broader strategy to coerce support for the governor’s re-election bid under the guise of May Day celebrations.
The APC further alleged that in addition to financial inducements, the Adeleke administration distributed Ankara fabrics to civil servants with instructions to flood the celebration venue in a bid to create an artificial show of support. It described the event as “stage-managed” and lacking in genuine public endorsement.
The opposition party criticized the ongoing work boycott by local government workers in the state, claiming that the Adeleke administration was complicit in prolonging the absence of workers to frustrate the reinstatement of elected local government chairmen and councillors as ordered by a Court of Appeal ruling on February 10, 2025.
“Labour leaders, compromised by government largesse, have continued to keep workers at home while the grassroots population suffers from lack of access to essential services,” the statement read. “This is a deliberate sabotage of local governance and a violation of the rule of law.”
The APC also blamed the governor for what it termed a collapse of governance at the grassroots, noting that many communities have been without functional local councils for several weeks without any official intervention from the state government.
Describing the state under Adeleke’s leadership as a “failed state,” the APC criticized his alleged prioritization of entertainment and public displays over policy-making and administration. “There is no governance in Osun. What we see instead is a governor more committed to fanfare than to substance,” the statement said.
The party declared that Osun deserves better leadership, claiming Adeleke has failed to meet the developmental needs of the state despite its wealth of human capital. “His two years in office have proven that he is more ceremonial than functional,” the APC stated.
The APC said the electorate would reject the Governor in the 2026 gubernatorial election, insisting that no amount of “coerced endorsements” could salvage his political future.
The PDP and the government have not reacted to the allegations as at the time of filing this report.
Advertisement
