By Ismail Azeez, Osogbo
As political momentum accelerates ahead of the 2026 governorship election in Osun State, a fierce controversy over billboard regulations has ignited a fresh debate on fairness, political tolerance, and the ethical use of state power.
The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has leveled serious allegations against the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke, accusing the state government of deliberately stifling opposition campaigns to create an uneven playing field.
The APC, through its State Chairman, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, and Spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, claims that the Governor is deploying the power of incumbency to frustrate the campaign of the APC governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO). The party alleges that the state government has issued a draconian directive to the O’Signage Agency, effectively banning the approval of APC billboards in strategic locations, specifically from Akoda to the Osogbo City Stadium, for the duration of the electioneering period.
Furthermore, the opposition contends that the administration has gone a step further by identifying owners of existing billboards across Osogbo and offering to compensate them for a three-year period, a move the APC interprets as a tactical buyout to deny them visibility.
The party described these actions as unlawful, anti-social, and born out of a fear of imminent defeat, while also making a startling claim regarding the political alignment of the incumbent administration. The APC hierarchy insists that these anti-democratic forces will not deter their candidate, who they claim enjoys the backing of the masses and President Bola Tinubu.
In its reaction, the APC also alerted statutory security agencies, including the Police, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), to note the alleged stifling of political space. They argued that the directives contravene the regulations of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and warned that any attempt to hold down their candidate would be legally resisted.
However, the state government has swiftly dismissed the allegations. The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on O’Signage, Hoarding, and Advertisement Agency, Wale Ayofe-Aminu, described the APC’s claims as baseless, hollow, and politically contrived. Ayofe-Aminu countered that a party which presided over years of regulatory arbitrariness and administrative recklessness lacks the moral standing to preach about legality.
He characterized the opposition’s outcry as crocodile tears and a symptom of a party struggling to accept its rejection by the electorate.
Beyond the immediate trading of blames, this clash highlights a critical challenge for the upcoming election cycle.
Elections should fundamentally be contests of ideas, performance, and vision, rather than battles for control over public spaces and state institutions. As the 2026 polls draw nearer, observers warn that both the government and the opposition owe the people of Osun a commitment to restraint and fair competition, ensuring that the democratic process is not derailed by administrative strong-arming or inflammatory rhetoric.