• Adeleke: Why arrest my people if you’re sure of victory?
• Oyebamiji: Where is the N650b allocation?
• Salaam unveils N1b women fund, smart surveillance plan for Osun
• SERAP urges INEC to tackle political violence
• Five shot dead as rival cult gangs clash in Osun
• ‘I mean kill Accord with votes, not violence’, Osun senator backtracks

Barely three days to Saturday’s Osun State governorship election, the three leading contenders, Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party (AP), All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, and African Democratic Congress (ADC) flag bearer, Najeem Folasayo Salaam, have declared their readiness to seize the state’s coveted Government House.

At a televised town hall meeting organised by Arise News, the three frontline candidates, who once belonged to the same progressive political family in the APC before their paths diverged amid political differences, made no attempt to hide their confidence, each projecting himself as the candidate best positioned to secure victory when voters file out on Saturday.

The town hall meeting also provided a rare platform for the major contenders to put their programmes, records, personalities and understanding of the state’s challenges before the electorate, amid growing political tension and intense campaigns across the state.

The meeting, moderated by former Editorial Board Chairman of The Guardian, Dr Reuben Abati, brought together five of the 14 candidates cleared to contest the election.

Besides Adeleke, Oyebamiji and Salaam, the other participants were the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) candidate, Dr Rasaq Saliu, and the 39-year-old candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Olajide Esan.

The participation of the five candidates offered voters an opportunity to compare their visions and policy propositions on the issues likely to determine the outcome of the polls, coming against the backdrop of heightened political activities and last-minute manoeuvring by the contending parties.

Adeleke, who is seeking another term in office, entered the session as the incumbent, while Oyebamiji, a former Commissioner for Finance in the state, represented the APC in its bid to return to power. Salaam, a former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly and one-time APC member, is campaigning under the ADC platform.

Adeleke, who was the first to face questions from the panel, turned the spotlight on the security situation and alleged intimidation of his supporters, questioning why opposition politicians would deploy federal influence if they were confident of winning Saturday’s election.

Adeleke alleged that the arrests and intimidation of his supporters were signs of anxiety among his political opponents ahead of the polls.

He also accused some of his political opponents of invoking the name of President Bola Tinubu in their dealings with federal institutions, saying the President had assured him that he wanted a free and fair election.

BUT Oyebamiji countered Adeleke’s claims, challenging the governor to account for the huge federal allocations that had accrued to Osun State during his tenure.

He also disputed the Adeleke administration’s narrative about the state’s finances, insisting that the immediate past administration of Oyetola left about N15 billion for its successor.

Oyebamiji challenged Adeleke to explain how the resources available to the state had been utilised since he assumed office, particularly in view of the increased federal allocations following economic reforms under President Bola Tinubu.

THE ADC candidate, Salaam, in his presentation, promised to establish a N1 billion women enterprise fund and deploy smart surveillance technology to strengthen security across Osun State if elected on Saturday.

He said if elected, his administration would combine community intelligence with technology to tackle insecurity, particularly in border communities and areas vulnerable to criminal activities.

He said the government could not effectively secure the state from the capital alone, stressing the need to return security operations to the communities and involve traditional rulers, religious leaders and other local stakeholders.

MEANWHILE, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently identify, document and publicly report incidents of political violence, threats and intimidation ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.

The organisation urged the electoral commission to take preventive measures to protect voters and candidates.

SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said there were reports of 56 politically related violent incidents and 14 fatalities in Osun over the past 12 months, with 36 incidents recorded in May and June alone.

He said the reported incidents included shootings, killings, physical attacks, intimidation, destruction of property and harassment.

IN another development, no fewer than five persons were reportedly shot dead between Monday night and early hours of Tuesday when members of rival cult gangs clashed in Ilesa, Osun State.

The clash, which occurred at about 8:00 p.m. around Imo, was between suspected members of the Aiye and Eiye confraternities in Imo area of Ilesa township.

As a result of the incident, three persons, simply identified as Idowu, Yinka and Eja, were reportedly killed.

However, there was reprisal attack around Boluwaduro area yesterday, which reportedly led to the killing of another two individuals suspected to be cultists.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Osun Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, said the Commissioner of Police in charge of the 2026 Osun State Governorship Election, CP Samuel Erale Etaifo, had directed the deployment of operatives of the Violence Crime Response Unit (VCRU) to the area to prevent further escalation, apprehend those responsible and restore calm.

HOWEVER, the senator representing Osun East Senatorial District, Francis Fadahunsi, has said that his now-viral ‘kill Accord’ comment circulating on social media was used metaphorically and not to incite violence as widely portrayed.

It would be recalled that the Osun lawmaker was seen speaking in Yoruba and directing his supporters to kill any member of the Accord Party seen in Ilesa, a town in the state, before and on Saturday, the governorship election day.

But in a statement by his media office, yesterday, titled ‘Kill Osun Accord with Votes, Not Violence’, the senator said his viral comment was “a call on supporters to overwhelmingly reject the Accord Party at the ballot box through lawful, peaceful and democratic means during the August 15 governorship election.”