Real estate developer Adewale Adebayo has emerged as the Osun State gubernatorial candidate for the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in the 2026 governorship election.

Adebayo’s nomination was ratified by the Chairman of the APM Primary Committee, Idowu Babarinde, after the party members presented him as the sole aspirant for the ticket at the State Secretariat, Ogo-Oluwa, Osogbo.

The APM Primary Committee chair, Babarinde, stated, “The mode of primary adopted for today’s exercise is affirmation of the consensus candidate which Hon. Adewale Adebayo emerged as the party’s candidate from a fair and credible process.”

He praised the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party for its support and encouraged party members to unite before the poll.

Adebayo, in his acceptance speech, expressed confidence in winning the gubernatorial election scheduled for August 8, 2026.

He said, “Today marks the beginning of APM’s unstoppable march to Bola Ige House in 2026. This endorsement is not about me; it is about all of us, united, focused, and ready to turn our vision for Osun into reality.”

He stated that “APM is not just a party, we are a movement—a movement of the people, by the people, and for the people. We are here to restore good governance, rebuild trust, and revive Osun’s foundations as we are on a mission to rescue Osun from failing leadership.

“The current government has failed. Public trust is gone. Promises are empty. The people are tired. The same way the PDP failed Governor Adeleke, Osun will do the same for him for his re-election bid come August 8th, 2026. APM is ready to send him back where he belongs.”

He commended the APM Primary Election Committee, led by Babarinde Nurudeen Idowu, saying, “The process was transparent, credible, and peaceful.”

In other news, Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has criticised his counterpart in Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, for the latter’s penchant for dancing, saying the governor’s style has been affecting governance in Osun.

Okphebholo, who is the chairman of the All Progressives Congress Primary Election Committee, while giving his opening remarks at the exercise that produced a former Managing Director/CEO of the National Inland Waterways Authority, Bola Oyebamiji, as the candidate of the party for the August 8, 2026 governorship election, said Governor Adeleke would soon be made to “dance back to his hometown” after losing at the poll.

Okpebholo said it was obvious that the people of the state are tired of Adeleke’s dancing style, insinuating that it is affecting good governance in Osun.

He said: “We are tired of dancing, dancing, dancing. We are going to win. I have never lost any election. This is a must-win election for us in Osun. This is the man (Oyebamiji) who will bring development to your state.”

Also, Oyebamiji, after he was affirmed as the sole candidate at the primary held on Saturday in Osogbo, said Osun State is currently at a crossroads under the administration of Governor Adeleke, adding that the state is torn between real progress and frivolity, and between accountability and wastefulness.