Osun 2026: Osogbo Elders Unite in Call for Osogbo’s First Governor for Osun
Sequel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lifting the ban on political activities leading to the 2026 governorship election in Osun State, elders of Osogbo, the state’s capital city, have insisted that the next governor of the state must be an indigene of Osogbo—male or female.
Consequently, the elders, under the platform of the apex Egbe Igbimon Agba Osogbo, have asked the three leading political parties in the state to prioritize and ensure the emergence of an Osogbo son or daughter during their forthcoming primaries.
Votes from Osogbo, a renowned town in old Western Nigeria, then Old Oyo State, and now capital of present-day Osun State, have played decisive roles in every election in determining who occupies Bola Ige Government House, Osogbo, as governor.
However, no son or daughter of Osogbo has ever been elected or served as governor since the state’s creation over 30 years ago—a narrative the elders and the town are determined to change in 2026.
Speaking on behalf of the Igbimo Agba Osogbo while featuring on Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) 104.5 FM in Osogbo last Thursday, Chairman of the Osogbo Elders Council, Prince Adeleke Oduola Ibiloye, said:
“We have, over time, stood firmly behind other towns who sought our support for their own in whatever political capacity. It is now time to extend that same hand of fellowship and support to our very own. It is now our turn to produce the next governor of this state in 2026, and we believe firmly that those we have supported in the past will repay our good gestures now.”
While pledging the full support of the elders, Prince Ibiloye also urged the entire town to throw their weight behind any qualified Osogbo son or daughter who emerges as flag bearer of any of the major participating political parties.
“As we speak, there are three main political parties in Nigeria—All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and African Democratic Congress (ADC)—and we have competent sons and daughters competing to be flag bearers of these parties. Any one of them that emerges as the party flag bearer automatically has our support. It is the turn of Osogbo, and we are ready to go all out for it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Osogbo Elders are not the only ones seeking a political realignment of the governorship seat to Osun Central Senatorial District, and Osogbo town in particular.
Renowned political pundit and columnist with some major newspapers, Rasheed Rasheed, had a few weeks ago, in an opinion piece titled Osun 2026: APC’s One Good Step That Deserves Another, argued that the Osun State chapter of the APC, having successfully rejected incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke’s bid to join the party and reap where he did not sow, should take one more bold step by zoning its ticket to Osun Central as a matter of justice, political strategy, and long-overdue realignment.
“That refusal to admit Adeleke into the party structure, even as high-level rumours swirled, was no small feat. At a time when several PDP senators and federal lawmakers from Osun were decamping to the APC, including Senator Francis Fadahunsi, Senator Ajagunla, Honourable Sanya Omirin, and Rep. Oluwole Oke, the state party could have wavered. But it didn’t. It delivered what many view as the first good step: preserving the integrity of the APC’s internal structure and shielding it from opportunistic infiltration.
However, one good step must lead to another.
As the 2026 governorship race draws nearer, and as whispers persist that Adeleke has not given up on his defection bid—with Hon. Oluwole Oke recently alluding to this—the APC must act with equal foresight. The next good step is to solidify the party’s strategic edge by zoning the 2026 governorship ticket to Osun Central Senatorial District.”
Rasheed further opined that should the party consider micro-zoning the ticket, Osogbo, being the political heartbeat of the state, deserves the prestigious slot.
He said with its statewide-acclaimed reputation for organizational strength and grassroots discipline, Osogbo should naturally be home to the next executive governor of the state.
“This is not just a rotational ritual. It is a matter of justice, political strategy, and long-overdue realignment. Osun Central has consistently demonstrated loyalty to the APC across election cycles, delivering robust returns in difficult contests. Constituencies like Osogbo, Olorunda, and Boripe have functioned as reliable electoral anchors for the party.
Zoning to Osun Central is not an exclusion of others; it is a political calibration grounded in performance, balance, and voter behaviour. If APC is to regain Osun, it must do so from its strongest base—and Osun Central is precisely that.
And if micro-zoning becomes necessary, the party’s compass should point naturally to Osogbo. As the capital and the political heart of the state, Osogbo has long been a nucleus of party loyalty, organizational strength, and grassroots discipline. The city has never produced a civilian executive governor despite its historic contributions to the state’s politics. That omission can be corrected wisely and honourably in 2026,” Rasheed explained.
