The upcoming August 15, 2026 Osun State governorship election will serve as a litmus test and rehearsal for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections, the party’s National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has declared.
Speaking in Abuja during the official inauguration of the Osun State APC Governorship Campaign Council, Yilwatda framed the Osun contest as a testing ground for the political machinery being built to secure victory nationwide in 2027.
“This will be our practice ground. It will be our rehearsal for the political machine we are preparing for 2027,” Yilwatda asserted, emphasizing that the party is deploying its full structural weight to guarantee a decisive win.
Taunting the ruling party in Osun State, Governor Ademola Adeleke’s Accord platform, Yilwatda likened the disparity in political strength to a tricycle facing a heavy-duty truck.
He maintained that no opposition party in the state possesses the structural capacity to match the APC’s formidable lineup of governors, lawmakers, federal ministers, and local government leaders.
“It is like a trailer facing a keke. I do not know how the political party standing against us in Osun can withstand the strength of these people who are going there to mobilise and win the election,” Yilwatda said.
According to the National Chairman, the APC strategy for Osun involves a hyper-localized, person-to-person campaign across all three senatorial districts, 30 local government areas, and 3,762 polling units.
Governors from the South-West, South-South, and South-East will each assume oversight of specific senatorial districts alongside federal and state lawmakers, while northern governors will mobilize grassroots structures down to the ward level.
“We will do person-to-person campaigns. We will go house to house,” Yilwatda added, expressing confidence that every resident in Osun, indigene or non-indigene will be directly engaged by party operatives.
Accepting the mandate on behalf of the campaign council, Imo State Governor Senator Hope Uzodimma assured that the campaign would be issues-based and driven by the performance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He reiterated that the council would remain focused on winning over Osun voters for APC governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO), without being derailed by opposition rhetoric.