Adeleke Slams Aregbesola: “Your Tenure Was The Worst In Osun’s History”

Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has launched a blistering critique of his predecessor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, branding his eight-year administration as the “worst in Osun’s history.”

The verbal salvo came in response to comments made by Aregbesola on Sunday while addressing supporters of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Osogbo. The former governor had boasted that the ADC would unseat the Adeleke-led government in the 2026 gubernatorial election.

In a statement issued Monday by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Governor Adeleke dismissed Aregbesola’s remarks, accusing him of leaving behind a legacy of hardship, mismanagement, and institutional decline.

“The empty boast of Mr. Aregbesola about 2026 is the symptom of a troubled mind—battling his benefactor and haunted by the suffering he inflicted on millions of Osun people through his failed policies,” Adeleke stated.

The governor cited several grievances, including Aregbesola’s controversial half-salary regime for civil servants, alleged misappropriation of contributory pension funds, and the withholding of cooperative deductions.

“Here is a man who ought to be remorseful and apologetic for his years of maladministration, now daring to attack a government working to repair his damage—paying off the half salaries, clearing unjustified debts, and rehabilitating a brutalized workforce,” the statement continued.

Adeleke noted that his administration has already paid 28 months of outstanding half-salaries owed by the previous administration and has cleared nearly ?60 billion in pension arrears.

He further accused Aregbesola of plunging the state into unsustainable debt, with consequences still reverberating through Osun’s finances.

“Our people know the truth—the darkest era in Osun’s governance was under Aregbesola. Pensioners died in avoidable hardship, and thousands lost their livelihoods,” Adeleke declared.

The governor didn’t mince words, likening the former governor to “a shrew who doesn’t realize he’s smelling.”

Looking ahead to the 2026 polls, Adeleke issued a stern warning:

“No voter in Osun is ready for a return to those evil days. The people will punish the former governor and his allies for the pain they deliberately inflicted.”

The intensifying war of words between the current and former governors signals an early and heated start to the 2026 Osun governorship race.