Candidates vying for Osun State’s governorship squared off this week over how to convert a sharp rise in federal allocations into durable economic growth, laying out competing blueprints just days ahead of Saturday’s election.
At a town hall debate organized by Arise News, economic diversification and private investment dominated discussion, as contenders sought to outline how the state’s recently expanded monthly federal inflows could translate into job creation, improved public services and reduced dependence on Abuja. Proposals across the field centered on agricultural expansion, industrial processing and power-sector investment.
Munirudeen Oyebamiji, candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC), argued that Osun can no longer function primarily as a civil-service economy reliant on federal transfers. He pledged to court private capital and develop agro-allied industries to widen the state’s internal revenue base.
Drawing on his experience as a former state finance commissioner and managing director of the Osun State Investment Company, Oyebamiji contrasted current federal allocations with those during his time in office, when the state’s monthly receipts stood at N3.5 billion – consistently short of a wage bill running between N3.7 billion and N3.8 billion.
‘Today, the least revenue that is accrued to this state every month is in the region of N17 to N20 billion every month to Osun,’ he said.
He said the increase – which he tied to higher federal allocations following the removal of the petrol subsidy – gives the state room to shift spending from recurrent expenditure toward productive investment. Agriculture, he argued, should anchor that strategy, with processing industries built around the state’s agricultural output to support backward integration. He also pledged to improve the state’s ease-of-doing-business environment, citing his background as an investment banker as an asset in attracting outside capital.
Najeem Salaam, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, presented a more employment-centered platform, pledging to recruit 20,000 workers into the state civil service within his first 100 days in office, spanning multiple sectors including education.
Salaam identified unreliable electricity as a key constraint on economic activity and pledged uninterrupted power supply statewide, pointing to the Electricity Act 2023 as having opened the door for state governments to participate directly in power generation and distribution.
‘I want to reassure the people of Osun that if I am elected to be the governor of the state, we will be enjoying 24 hours of electricity without interruption,’ he said.
Adeleke Runs on Infrastructure Record
Governor Ademola Adeleke, seeking re-election, built his case around infrastructure and social spending delivered over his three and a half years in office. He cited more than 350 kilometers of completed roads, with another 160 kilometers under construction, alongside dualized roads and new bridges linking major communities.
Adeleke pushed back on opposition claims that some projects were substandard, saying the projects had been reviewed and certified by qualified engineers.
He also pointed to the rehabilitation of more than 200 primary healthcare centers, which he said had been outfitted with solar power and other infrastructure upgrades, as well as the distribution of tractors, seedlings and other farming inputs to support agriculture. On education, Adeleke said his administration had targeted a sector in need of significant investment and had worked to lift Osun’s standing in national rankings.
A Divergence Over Teacher Shortages
Education emerged as a further point of contention. Oyebamiji claimed Osun faces a shortfall of 28,000 teachers.
‘As of today, we have 28,000 deficits of teachers in Osun and education is just the bedrock of any form of achievement in the world,’ he said, pledging heavier investment in education and healthcare if elected.
The Core Choice for Voters
The debate crystallized a broader question facing Osun voters ahead of Saturday’s election: whether the state should expand government-led spending and public services, or pivot more aggressively toward private investment and industrialization.
Oyebamiji’s pitch centers on transforming Osun from a civil-service-dependent economy into an investment-driven one, arguing that channeling capital into agricultural processing and other sectors could simultaneously expand the state’s revenue base and generate employment outside government. Salaam’s platform leans on public-sector job creation and reliable electricity as the levers for improving livelihoods and supporting business activity. Adeleke, meanwhile, is campaigning on a completed and in-progress infrastructure record that he says gives voters a concrete basis for evaluation.
With Osun’s economy still heavily reliant on federal transfers to fund government operations, the competing visions laid out at the town hall are likely to weigh heavily on the outcome of Saturday’s governorship contest.