The Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate and Senator representing Osun West, Olalere Oyewumi, has described the leadership of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State as “terrible people” and politically “babies”, accusing the party’s leaders of lacking the experience required to navigate the state’s political terrain.
Oyewumi made the remarks on Wednesday, while speaking on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, where he assessed the aftermath of the August 15 Osun governorship election and the growing political realignment ahead of the 2027 general election.
The senator alleged that the conduct of some APC leaders before the governorship election created an unusual situation in which Osun appeared to have two competing centres of authority.
He said the situation was worsened by what he described as conflicting directives involving the state government and security agencies.
“What is happening now confirms what we have been saying during the pre-election matter, that people are just dropping Mr. President’s name to perpetrate illegality to cause so much confusion in the electoral space in Osun State.”
Oyewumi alleged that political actors were using their relationship with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to influence security decisions in the state.
“They go to the police and give instructions. It’s like we are having two governors in Osun State. Oyetola was behaving like a city governor. The governor holds a security meeting and they decide to do something. Oyetola recalls the CP and they decide to do another thing.”
His allegations comes just days before the August 15 governorship election where Governor Ademola Adeleke accused his predecessor and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, of using “federal might” to manipulate the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) into freezing the state’s bank accounts. Speaking during the Arise News Town Hall debate in Osogbo, Adeleke alleged that Oyetola falsely dropped President Bola Tinubu’s name to pressure the anti-graft agency into implementing the restrictions out of political bitterness. However, Adeleke clarified that the President called him directly to express embarrassment over the incident, leading the Governor to instruct his Attorney-General to drop the state’s pending lawsuit against the EFCC following the presidential intervention.
Meanwhile, senator Oyewumi said the Adeleke administration deliberately avoided confrontation despite what he described as attempts to create tension ahead of the election.
“We decided to keep calm. We decided to keep calm because we understand this game. It’s just to confuse the people and mislead them, embarrass them, harass them and force them to submission.”
He said the campaign instead focused on mobilising voters and reminding them that the ultimate power belonged to the electorate.
“So instead of joining them to that, we went to talk to the people and let them know that their fate is in their hands. They just take it there and come for action on August 15th.”
According to Oyewumi, the election result demonstrated that the strategy of intimidation and political pressure failed to sway Osun voters.
He said the people of the state were more politically sophisticated than their opponents assumed and ultimately rejected attempts to influence their choice at the polls.
Oyewumi was particularly critical of the APC leadership in Osun State, describing the party as fundamentally different from APC structures in other parts of the country.
“The APC in Osun State is a special breed of APC. They are different from other APCs that you see in other places. They are very, very terrible people. But they don’t understand the game. They are too young in politics.”
He argued that the party had lost experienced political figures who previously contributed to its strategic direction.
“When people like Aregbesola have left, Omisore has left them, all the people that are giving them the AC, they throw them away. The remaining people are politically babies.”
Oyewumi accused the Osun APC leadership of relying excessively on President Tinubu’s name instead of building its own political strategy and engaging the electorate.
“The only thing they understand is to drop Mr. President’s name and embarrass people and shoot gun around and arrest people and say, go and kill, this and that.”
He said such an approach was inconsistent with the political realities of Osun State, where voters, according to him, had demonstrated their independence.
“The people of Osun state are more mature than that. We won’t go any further than that.”
The senator’s comments also suggested that the Presidency had begun to recognise the difference between genuine support for Tinubu and what he described as attempts by local political actors to exploit the President’s name for personal or partisan purposes.
He said the President was increasingly becoming aware of the activities of those who, according to him, had previously used their access to the Presidency to create confusion in Osun.
“But now, the president is now getting to know their true actions. Their true actions. So that’s why you see Mr. President taking his own separate line now. From their own line.”
Oyewumi’s remarks point to a growing political distance between the Osun APC leadership and some of the political actors now supporting Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid outside the party’s state structure.
He maintained that support for the President was not restricted to the APC and that political groups could work for Tinubu without necessarily operating under the direct control of the Osun APC.
“There are so many doors that lead to the presidency. We have our own line. We do our own work. There is no crisis at all.”
Oyewumi cited the support of politicians from other parties, including FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo and Abia State Governor Alex Otti, as evidence that Tinubu’s 2027 support base would extend beyond the APC.
“The PDP now and the National Head of PDP, FCT Minister, Nyseom Wike, is supporting Mr. President. Is it not? The governor of Anambra State, Prof. Soludo, is supporting Mr. President. The government of Abia State, Alex Otti, is supporting Mr. President. Did you see any crisis in them?”
He said the President’s campaign structure would ultimately accommodate various political groups and organisations working toward the same objective.
“The president has a very big organization. He has youth organization, women organization.”
Oyewumi added that the emerging political structure would not necessarily require members to abandon their existing political identities.
“This is one of the groups that the president is working for him. I would like to the campaign organogram will incorporate all sorts of groups. And the plan is to get the result in January.”
The senator also said the Osun election had demonstrated the importance of respecting voters and avoiding political tactics that could undermine confidence in the democratic process.
He argued that political parties should concentrate on convincing citizens through performance, policies and effective mobilisation rather than intimidation.
He maintained that the people of Osun had rejected attempts to manipulate their choices and had instead exercised their constitutional right to determine who governs them.
Oyewumi said the focus should now shift from the governorship contest to governance and the 2027 presidential election, where he expects different political groups to work together in support of Tinubu.
