By Ismail Azeez
As the August 15, 2026, Osun State governorship election draws nearer, political tension has deepened as the Accord Party and a pro-All Progressives Congress (APC) group exchange words over alleged attempts to discredit the APC candidate.
The Osun State chapter of the Accord Party had earlier distanced itself from controversies surrounding the APC governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO), warning the opposition not to drag it into issues relating to the candidate’s credentials.
The party, in a statement signed on Saturday by its State Chairman, Pastor Victor Akande, maintained that it has no involvement in the internal affairs of the APC, particularly matters concerning the credibility of its candidate.
He said that, “We wish to state clearly that Accord has no business with the internal challenges of the disgruntled APC, particularly issues relating to the credibility of its candidate’s credentials.
“At this critical time, our focus remains firmly on our campaign and engaging the people of Osun State with our manifesto. We are committed to selling our candidate and his policies to the people, not getting distracted by the headaches of the opposition.
“While we have no interest in the APC’s internal issues, we strongly believe that anyone aspiring to lead the people must be transparent and accountable at all times. The people deserve to know the truth about those who seek to govern them. It is on this note that we expected AMBO to provide answers to the 30 questions posed to him, which he failed to do,” he said.
Reacting to the development, the AMBO Media Fronts accused the Osun State Government of acting through political agents to orchestrate the disqualification of Bola Oyebamiji on the basis of what it described as frivolous, unfounded, and politically motivated allegations.
The group, in a statement by its Coordinator, Adebayo Adedeji, dismissed claims of discrepancies in Oyebamiji’s credentials, insisting that the allegations were baseless and intended to mislead the public.
Adedeji said, “The so-called lawsuit does not even question the academic credentials of AMBO, after they unsuccessfully combed through the certificates of the APC candidate in search of faults. Instead, it hinges on the claim that Oyebamiji submitted an appointment letter as MD/CEO of NIWA bearing his Muslim name, Munirudeen—a name they allege does not appear on his other credentials. This is nothing but a ridiculous and frivolous suit.
“The fact of the matter is that Governor Adeleke has possibly seen the handwriting of electoral loss on the wall, hence the panic mode activated by his bumbling government.
“Across the state, independent surveys, opinion polls and direct feedback from citizens consistently affirm that AMBO is the preferred choice—widely regarded as the candidate best positioned to deliver competent, transparent, and forward-looking governance. They have rejected Adeleke, citing his administration’s poor performance over the past three years. For instance, the state reportedly spent a mere N7 billion on agriculture and food security in three years, while an outrageous N92 billion was expended on sustaining the governor’s ‘stomach infrastructure.’
“Having realised that they have got no scorecard to campaign with, they are now desperate to reduce AMBO to their miserable level of ‘Oluwole and Penn Foster’ academic scandal which has defined Adeleke in the last 8 years.
“It is both ironic and troubling that a governor who, despite his privileged background, could not complete his secondary education meritoriously, and who, like a loafer and lotus eater, idled and laid about for 60 years before political pressure in 2018 led to the hurried acquisition of a controversial degree from an obscure college, now seeks to diminish the well-documented academic and professional accomplishments of Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO).
“They believe that by manufacturing noise around names and documents, they can distract from the real issues and deceive the people of Osun State. They believe that such antics can salvage their rapidly diminishing public rating. They are mistaken. The good people of Osun are discerning and will not be swayed by such pedestrian tactics.
“Again, we urge the public to disregard these distractions and remain focused on the issues that matter: credible leadership, integrity and the future of Osun State,” he said.