Yilwatda: Nothing Will Stop APC from Taking over Osun Govt House This August

• Says ruling party has capacity to win any election, including presidential polls

•Monarch pleads with Tinubu not to rig poll 

•APC headed for massive defeat despite political structure, Imole campaign boasts

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo, Adedayo Akinwale and Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has boasted that nothing would stop the ruling party from taking over the Osun State Government House on August 15, 2026.

He noted that the ruling party has what it takes to win any election including next year’s presidential primary election.

Yilwatda stated this yesterday in Abuja during the inauguration of the campaign council for Osun governorship election.

The Chairman stressed that the members of the campaign council were carefully selected to ensure that the party mobilises human and material resources, while also ensuring that the election was properly coordinated for the party to win.

He stated: “If there is any political party in Nigeria that has human resources in abundance, it is the APC. If there is any political party that has the most experienced politicians in Nigeria, it is the APC.

“No political party can boast of the number of governors, National Assembly members, local government chairmen, councillors, former governors, and former National Assembly members that we have. We have them in abundance.

“The APC has all it takes to win elections in Nigeria. From councillorship elections to local government elections, National Assembly elections, House of Assembly elections, governorship elections, and ultimately the presidential election in 2027.

“Looking at the calibre of people we have selected in this room from the governors to members of the National Assembly, members of the National Working Committee, and all the committees represented here nothing will stop us from taking over the Government House on August 15, 2026.”

Yilwatda described the forthcoming Osun governorship election as a litmus test that would measure the ruling party’s level of preparedness for the 2027 elections.

“This will be our practice ground. It will be our rehearsal for the political machine we are preparing for 2027.

“That is why winning the Osun election is a must for the APC. The party will mobilise resources, coordinate our people, and move into Osun in large numbers after this inauguration,” Yilwatda added.

The chairman revealed that the ruling party would conduct intensive grassroots campaigns to woo the electorate in the state.

Speaking, too, the Chairman of the Campaign Council and Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, said the council accepted this responsibility with humility and an unshakable resolve to justify the confidence.

According to him, “This inauguration is another call to service, one that we are happy, ready and willing to undertake. Public responsibility is not a declaration; it is a covenant demanding sacrifice, discipline and measurable results.

“This is a collective responsibility. Every member of this council, every leader, every member of our party and every progressive stakeholder has a vital role to play.

“There can be no spectator in a mission of this importance. Our unity must be our first campaign message because a united party is the strongest foundation for victory.

“Our assignment is clear: to listen to the people of Osun State, speak to their hopes and aspirations, earn their confidence and convince them to vote for the APC and our governorship candidate.”

On his part, the governorship candidate of the party, Asiwaju Oyebamiji was inspired by the calibre of political heavyweights selected to undertake this important assignment.

He noted that the leadership and members of the APC in Osun State have absolute confidence in individual and collective capacities, integrity and political experience of members of the council to deliver victory to the party.

“Since my emergence as the governorship candidate of our great party last year, our campaign team, with the active participation of my co-aspirants, who have taken up critical roles, has taken our message of prosperity, good governance and Renewed Hope to every corner of Osun State,” Oyebamiji said.

Monarch Urges Tinubu Not to Rig in Osun

Timi of Ede land, His Royal Majesty, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal, yesterday, appealed to President Bola Tinubu not to rig the August 15 Gubernatorial election in the state, saying the ancestors of Ede land were already backing Governor Ademola Adeleke to win the election.

The Monarch also urged Tinubu to leave Osun people alone and allow each of them to vote where they so desire.

Speaking at the Commissioning of Dualisation of Akoda-Baptist High School-Oke Gada road, Ede by Governor Ademola Adeleke, he posited that, “We are using this opportunity to appeal to President Bola Tinubu not to rig the governorship election.

“He should leave us alone and allow each of us to vote where we so desire. They know that by the grace of God, the Accord Party will be victorious,

“I was at a function, where the Imam of Offa, in Kwara State is doing a marriage for his daughter, when APC Candidate (AMBO) came with his entourage, they pointed me to him, and he came to greet me.

“But I was surprised when his followers joined the musician to sing that they should put out Ede’s light and put on that of Ikire, where Oyebamiji comes from, when I got home, I spoke to God to end their reign and God did that immediately.

“What saddens me is that I still saw some Ede people climbing the stage that day to dance, is that right? The reign of Ademola Adeleke can’t be put to an end. The ancestors of Ede are backing him.

“Secondly, they are carrying a campaign of calumny that when they came to Ede, I ran from the palace. I have been expecting the day they would come and greet me so that I can ask them that I was in Offa when they say they should put off Ede’s light. What are they expecting from me? It is a curse!

“My people of Ede, this August 15 election, we must vote massively, we will use Ede’s vote to pay deficit from other local government areas of Osun state. We are going to fill ballot boxes to the brim, God has strategically positioned us on top of the ballot.”

Governor Ademola Adeleke noted that, “This is a promise kept and this is Governance that touches the heart. This road is very strategic to Ede, it links major Residential areas, Schools, Market, and connects to roads leading to Osogbo and Ibadan metropolis.

“Ede is a town of scholars, warriors and entrepreneurs. For so long, our people have suffered traffic flooding and a poor road network within the town.

“With this dualised road, movement within Ede will be faster and safer; business along Akoda, Cottage, Oke Gada will grow; students and workers will get to school and work on time; night life and security will improve with solar lighting.”

“This is part of our administration’s agenda of infrastructure renewal across all zones of Osun. What we are doing in Osogbo, we are doing in Ila, in Iwo, Ile Ife, Ilesha and now in Ede.

“It is noteworthy to inform the gathering of today that our engineers have delivered quality work in line with the best standard. I commend the Ministry of Works and the contractor for a job well done.”

APC Headed for Massive Defeat Despite Political Structure, Says Imole Campaign

The Imole Campaign Council (TICC) has rejected claims by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, that the party’s mobilisation of governors, members of the National Assembly, local government chairmen and other political heavyweights would give it the strength to defeat Governor Ademola Adeleke in the August 15, 2026 governorship election in Osun State.

The Campaign Council described Yilwatda’s comparison of the APC political structure to a “trailer” and Governor Adeleke’s camp to a “Keke Napep” as a reflection of political arrogance, arguing that the statement showed that the APC leadership had yet to fully grasp the realities of Osun State’s political terrain.

In a statement issued by the Chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee of the Imole Campaign Council, Hon. Bamidele Salam yesterday, the council said the APC should be reminded that electoral victories are determined by the people and not by the number of governors, National Assembly members or political office holders a party is able to mobilise.

The council stated that the people of Osun State were not waiting for political heavyweights from outside the state to determine their future, stressing that voters were capable of making independent decisions based on their assessment of the performance of the government in power.

According to the council, although the APC National Chairman may have assembled what he described as a political “trailer,” he should recognise that the people of Osun State are not political cargo that can be moved around at the direction of outsiders.