The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Osun State, Mr Bola Oyebamiji, has declared that he will defeat Governor Ademola Adeleke by a landslide in the August 8, 2026, governorship election, insisting that no amount of propaganda will stop his victory.
Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO, made the assertion while speaking at an APC youths’ reconciliation summit held at the party secretariat in Osogbo on Wednesday. He accused the current administration of spreading falsehoods to discredit the APC and his candidacy.
According to him, members of the party—especially the youth—must actively counter what he described as negative propaganda by engaging voters through door-to-door and street-level mobilisation.
“Our opponents have started lying to the people of Osun. You must dismantle their lies. We are taking over in 2026. Do not be afraid; no one will intimidate you,” he said.
“I want to assure you that 2026 will not be like 2022. We must work harder and smarter.”
The former Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) emphasised the crucial role of youths in securing electoral victory, urging them to take ownership of the campaign project to ensure the party’s success.
Meanwhile, the Osun State Government has rejected claims by Sally Tibbot Consulting Limited that 8,452 workers on the state payroll were ghost workers, describing the allegation as misleading and exaggerated.
The government said a re-validation exercise revealed only 1,316 unseen employees and pensioners, far fewer than the figures claimed by the consulting firm.
In a statement, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment accused Sally Tibbot Consulting of attempting to pressure the government into accepting an inflated audit report. He stated that many individuals labelled as ghost workers were legitimate employees and retirees, noting that the firm neither requested verification documents nor accepted payment based on the disputed figures.
Sally Tibbot Consulting, engaged in January 2023 to conduct a staff audit, had alleged that the state was paying ghost workers about ₦13.7 billion annually. The firm also claimed that 8,448 workers were ghost retirees, a conclusion the government said was reached without inviting the affected persons to explain their absence.
According to the government, 8,015 of the workers were confirmed as active staff, while only 433 were found to be unreachable.
Reacting to the controversy, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) governorship candidate in Osun State, Adewale Adebayo, described Governor Adeleke’s response to the allegations as evasive and contradictory.
