Osun won’t Return to your Dark Days – Adeleke Slams Aregbesola

Osun won’t Return to your Dark Days – Adeleke Slams Aregbesola

Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has fired back at former Governor Rauf Aregbesola regarding the 2026 governorship election, insisting that Osun people will never return to what he described as the “dark days” of maladministration and financial recklessness.

In a statement released on Monday by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Governor Adeleke dismissed Aregbesola’s reported ambitions to reclaim power in the state as a “blurry and unrealistic vision,” completely detached from the current realities in Osun.

“Osun people know their past and present governors. They are well aware that the darkest era in our state’s history was under Mr. Aregbesola, an era during which pensioners died in neglect, livelihoods were destroyed, and the state was plunged into massive debt that still haunts Osun today,” Adeleke said.

Governor Adeleke accused the former governor of leaving behind a legacy of crippling debt, unpaid salaries, abandoned projects, and inflated contracts, all of which continue to place a financial strain on the state’s resources.

According to the governor, his administration has already cleared 28 months of salary arrears and paid off nearly ₦60 billion in pension debts — liabilities he squarely blamed on the fallout from Aregbesola’s eight-year tenure.

Adeleke emphasized that his government remains committed to fiscal transparency, people-centered policies, and prudent financial management. He declared that Osun voters would never endorse a return to the failures of the past.

“No voter in Osun is ready to go back to the dark days,” Rasheed affirmed on behalf of the governor.

The statement also highlighted the achievements of Adeleke’s administration, including its local content policies, non-borrowing governance model, and people-first development agenda, which have earned recognition both within and outside the state.

Adeleke’s firm stance sets the stage for what promises to be a fierce political contest as the countdown to 2026 begins.