The midterm celebration of Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State last week, has stirred up various forces, who are interested in who becomes the next governor of the State in 2026, when the tenure of the current tenant in Bole Ige Hosue, as the Government House of the State of the Living Spring is called would come to an end.
Sources familiar with happenings in the state said that there are three major contenders and forces. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with Adeleke as the arrow head; the Minister of the Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola with the support of the Presidency and his party – All Progressives Congress (APC), with the party chairman Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who is telling anyone who cares to listen that Osun State is the next to be taken over by the APC.
It would be recalled that shortly after the ruling APC won the off-cycle election in Edo State in September, Ganduje said that the APC would capture the entire South West and the next would be Ondo and Osun states.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), announced the APC as winner of Ondo State and the next would be Osun and Oyo.
Another force is the Osun Progressives led by the immediate past Minister of the Interior and an ally of the President Bola Tinubu, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
All the three are already marshalling their forces and resources for the looming battle for Abere.
Watchers of political happenings in the state said it is going to be an interesting battle with Aregbesola expected to play a critical role, depending on where he throws his hat.
There are various calculations. Indeed, political pundits are waiting to see a gravitation of Aregbesola towards the incumbent governor again. Of course, some of his core loyalists are serving in his cabinet.
One of his die- hard loyalists is the current Commissioner of Information and Public Enlightenment, in Osun State, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi.
However, it was learnt that some people were already reaching out to Aregbesola, telling him that if he wants to end the feud with his friend of many years, who is the current President of Nigeria, he should throw in his hat.
