A member of the House of Representatives, Bamidele Salaam, has said the police in Osun State were the “most disappointing” institution in the events leading to the 2026 governorship election.

National Assembly

In an interview with AIT, Salaam criticised the state of Nigeria’s electoral institutions, saying their failure to earn public trust remains a major challenge to credible elections. He specifically faulted the police and other security agencies for their handling of events before the Osun poll.

“The problem we have with our electoral system is that we have institutions that are extremely weak. Institutions that have not been able to earn the trust and the confidence of the people. And these are institutions that are critical to delivering on free, fair, credible, and peaceful election. The Nigerian police, the INEC, and other security agencies, and the police in particular in Osun has been the most disappointing of the institutions.

He said the situation was particularly concerning because of the incidents recorded before the election, including killings and the destruction of campaign billboards. According to him, the police could have prevented some of the incidents if they had acted within their constitutional powers.

“I say this without any apology. The most disappointing institutions in the event preceding the election. All these killings, wanton destruction of billboards and what have you that you had, would not have, you know, continued if the police in Osun under the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olokode, had acted decisively and in accordance with the powers donated to the police by the Nigerian Constitution, especially going by the vicious campaign that the APC ran against us in Osun. Very vicious, very deadly, very bitter, you know, contentions that they did to hijack power in Osun.”

On Governor Ademola Adeleke’s political position, Salaam said the governor remained committed to his earlier promise to support President Bola Tinubu, stressing that the decision should not be interpreted as a betrayal of his party.

“But the Governor is a man of his word. He doesn’t want to go back on the commitments he gave since he was even in the PDP, and he still continues to say, ‘Well, I will support the President because…’ You know, one, I want us to deepen the respect for the North-South, you know, power.”

Salaam added that Adeleke’s support for the President was also linked to ongoing projects and reforms in Osun State, which he said the governor wanted to complete.

“Number two, he has projects that he’s also executing in our state that we want to support him to be able to complete. He has reforms that he’s initiated that we want him to be able to complete and so on and so forth.”

He maintained that Adeleke had no plan to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the governor would remain in Accord and work to strengthen the party ahead of future elections.

“So, it’s not a matter of betrayal. Accord has no presidential candidate, and the Governor is not planning to leave Accord. He’s not going to the APC. He’s staying in his party to build this party into a platform that can win elections in so many other parts of the country in the years ahead.”

Two days to Saturday’s Osun State governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the reprinting of ballot papers and result sheets following a court order directing the inclusion of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Dr Francis Olugbenga Ajala, in the race.

INEC, in a statement issued by the national commissioner and chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said Ajala and his running mate, Faseke Babajimi Oladipo, had been added to the ballot.

The development means that 15 political parties will now contest the August 15 governorship election.

According to the commission, the decision followed a judgement delivered by the Federal High Court, Abuja, on July 22, 2026, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/344/2026, involving the SDP, Ajala and INEC.

The court ordered the electoral commission to recognise, accept, upload, process and publish Ajala’s name and particulars as the SDP candidate for the election.

In compliance with the judgement, INEC said it was reproducing the ballot papers and result sheets to accommodate the SDP candidate.

The commission said the reproduced materials would arrive in Osun State today, Thursday, August 13, and would immediately be moved to various local government area offices across the state in line with its established procedure for deploying sensitive electoral materials.

The development has placed additional logistical pressure on INEC as preparations intensify for Saturday’s poll.

INEC, however, assured political parties, candidates and voters of its commitment to conducting a free, fair and credible election and urged all stakeholders to remain focused on the electoral process.

Tensions have escalated in Osun State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election following allegations by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that Dele Ayegbo, nephew of the party’s campaign Director-General, Wole Oke, has been gunned down.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Osun APC spokesperson Kola Olabisi revealed that Ayegbo was killed on Wednesday night near his residence in the Idofin area of Esa-Oke, located in the Obokun Local Government Area.

According to the party, suspected hoodlums operating from a vehicle carried out the attack.

“The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the killing of the party’s governorship campaign Director-General, Wole Oke’s nephew, Dele Ayegbo, in Esa-Oke, Obokun Local Government Council Area of the state on Wednesday night by the hit squad of the Accord Party who have been terrorising the members and supporters of the opposition APC across the state,” the statement reads.

“Information has it that Ayegbo was gunned down at the road junction close to his house at the Idofin quarters area of the ancient town by the Accord Party hoodlums who were riding in a car.”

Olabisi stated that two party members were targeted in the shooting. While Ayegbo died instantly at the scene, the second victim sustained gunshot wounds and was rushed to an undisclosed local hospital for medical treatment.

Describing the violence as intolerable, Olabisi demanded immediate action from law enforcement agencies.

“The killing of the nephew of our campaign Director-general in Esa-Oke is one death too many which must be urgently unravelled by the police in the interest of fairness and justice,” he said.

Decrying the rising violence, Olabisi claimed that more than 30 APC members have been killed by political thugs, with Ijesaland bearing the heaviest toll—accounting for 17 of those fatalities since 2022.

“A common observation has been that whenever our members were killed, the self-acclaimed chief security officer of the state would not condemn the killing which gives credence to his approval of the rampant extra-judicial killings of our members and supporters in the state,” Olabisi further claimed.

He urged the Osun State Police Command to intervene swiftly before voters go to the polls on August 15, alleging that the attack was designed to intimidate the electorate.