The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has thrown his weight behind the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Osun State, Bola Oyebamiji, ahead of Saturday’s election.
Ajayi said the APC candidate demonstrated a better understanding of the responsibilities of a governor during a recent town hall organised by Arise TV for the three leading contenders.
Oyebamiji is contesting against the African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salam, and the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking a second term on the platform of the Accord Party.
Reacting to the candidates’ performances on his X account on Wednesday, Ajayi argued that the Osun election should be viewed as a contest to select someone capable of managing the state’s finances and resources.
He said, “The state is not recruiting an entertainer, a professional campaigner or a permanent opposition politician. It is recruiting a chief executive to manage a financially constrained public enterprise called Osun State.”
According to him, Oyebamiji performed better in areas such as policy presentation, knowledge of government finances and managerial competence.
Ajayi said the APC candidate appeared to approach governance as a management responsibility rather than simply a political exercise.
He added, “If the exercise is judged strictly on policy articulation, command of facts, fiscal realism and evidence of managerial competence, I will candidly say Oyebamiji came out ahead.”
The presidential aide also highlighted Oyebamiji’s previous experience as Commissioner for Finance under former governors Rauf Aregbesola and Gboyega Oyetola.
He noted that Oyebamiji, a former banker, had presented himself as someone with practical experience in managing public finances.
Ajayi said the APC candidate had cited his role at Osun State Investment Holdings and his claim that the organisation was turned around during his tenure, resulting in the development of a real estate portfolio in Lagos and Abuja.
He also referenced Oyebamiji’s claim that the Oyetola administration met its financial obligations without taking fresh loans and left about N16bn in the state treasury before handing over to the succeeding administration.
Ajayi, however, said such claims should be independently verified.
He stated, “A governorship election should be an audit of competing records, plans and managerial capacity, not a popularity contest between personalities.”
Ajayi criticises Adeleke, Salam
The presidential aide also criticised Adeleke’s performance at the town hall, accusing the governor of focusing too much on his predecessors instead of highlighting his administration’s achievements.
According to Ajayi, Adeleke was “forceful and combative” during the session but did not sufficiently use the opportunity to present a compelling account of his administration’s record as he seeks another term.
He said, “Political attacks may excite loyalists, but they are not substitutes for a convincing account of stewardship.”
Ajayi also questioned the funding plans behind some of Salam’s campaign promises.
He described Salam’s proposals for free services and increased government intervention as ambitious but argued that the candidate did not adequately explain how the state would finance them.
He said, “His offer of free services and expansive government intervention sounded attractive, but there was insufficient attention to the harder question of how Osun would pay for them.”
The Osun governorship election is scheduled for August 15, 2026.
