The Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Nigerian Ports Authority, Olalekan Badmus, speaks with Ismaeel Uthman on the political tension in Osun ahead of Saturday’s governorship election
Your party, APC, is seeking to unseat the incumbent Governor, Ademola Adeleke. Why should Osun voters replace the current administration with yours?
Let me approach this from the standpoint of performance and evidence. The fundamental question before Osun people is: which administration has demonstrated the capacity to manage the state’s resources responsibly, build sustainable institutions and deliver development that can outlive a political tenure? For us in the APC, the record of the immediate past governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s administration provides an important reference point.
When Oyetola assumed office in 2018, Osun was facing financial challenges, but his administration increased the state IGR through prudent financial management. It also upgraded healthcare facilities, implemented the state health insurance scheme, completed road projects and continued some inherited programmes rather than abandoning them. Now, the present administration under Governor Ademola Adeleke also has projects and achievements it has presented to the public. But an election is not simply a competition over who can produce the longest list of projects. The deeper question is: what is the long-term economic direction of Osun State? Where are the sustainable jobs for our young people? How do we move from simply constructing roads to using those roads to connect farmers to markets and attract industries? How do we increase internally generated revenue without putting unnecessary pressure on ordinary citizens? How do we strengthen education, healthcare and technical skills so that our young people can compete anywhere in the world? How do we attract private investment and make Osun a destination for business rather than a state where government remains the dominant economic player? Those are the questions that should define the 2026 election. And that is where the APC’s argument should be examined against its record: fiscal responsibility, infrastructure development, healthcare investment, economic management and institutional continuity. We are not saying that the Oyetola administration was perfect, but there is a record that can be examined, achievements that can be measured and lessons that can be applied. The choice before Osun is therefore not simply APC versus Adeleke. It is a choice about the kind of governance we want going forward: governance that is measured by projects and by financial sustainability, economic growth, job creation, institutional strength and the quality of life of the people.
