Osun 2026 Election: Christians Makes Strong Case for Next Governor
- As political calculations regarding who becomes the next Governor of Osun State begin, religious dimensions have been introduced to the permutations
- While interested politicians, especially from the opposition APC, continue their consultations, religious groups have started their exhortations, demanding that the political parties choose a member of their faith as Governor
- One of such religious groups is the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), which demands that the next Governor of Osun State should be a Christian
Religious dynamics have been introduced into political aspirations in Osun, with the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) demanding that the next Governor of the state be a Christian.
In an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, a member of the Directorate of Politics and Good Governance (DPG) of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Seun Adeoye, said he also aligned with the position expressed by the Osun state DPG’s director, Reverend Isaac Alamu and the secretary, Rev. Walter Aworanti, that there are more Christians in the state than Muslims.
Source: Facebook
PFN’s declaration
The PFN’s DPG had claimed that out of the six civilian governors Osun state has had, only Prince Olagunsoye Oyinola was a Christian.
The directorate of Politics and Governance (DPG), Osun state chapter, through its director, Rev. Isaac Alamu and the secretary, Rev Walter Aworanti, noted that for justice and fairness, the Christian Community in the state should produce the next governor in the state.
The leadership of DPG in Osun state believed that political parties should give their tickets to Christian candidates.
In a conversation with Legit.ng correspondent, Bishop Adeoye said the DPG’s position was consequent upon a Muslim group’s call for a Muslim Governor in 2026.
By number, Christians are more - Adeoye
Bishop Adeoye added that a Muslim group had earlier claimed that Muslims are more than Christians in Osun state. He said the statistics cannot be true.
Source: Twitter
The PFN’s directorate of Politics and Governance had maintained that the correct data showed that the Christian population in the Osun State stands at 47%, Muslims 43% and others 10 per cent.
“The group denounced what it termed wrong statistics being bandied around that Muslims in the state are 67 per cent. They said the.”
The DPG, according to Bishop Adeoye, will not agree with the statistics because:
“There is a Senatorial District, Osun East, that has over 80% as Christians, and for the two other Senatorial Districts (West and Central), it is 50-50 or 60-40”
Bishop Adeoye said that although the data provided is not official from the Government, the DPG has their representatives who came up with the figures.
“But to me, I also believe that the 67% claim by the Muslim group cannot be right.
He noted that the claims by the two groups "are part of the political game, anyway, just to say that we are more than you, and since we are more than you, we are the majority. So, we should be the ones to rule.”
Christians allegedly being marginalised
Adeoye added:
“The issue is supposed to be about good governance but of recent, a Muslim group came up and said the next Governor of Osun State should be a Muslim. Their reason was that all the Governors in the Southwest were Christians.
“But, that should not be our cup of tea in Osun state. Why are they zeroing in on Osun atate? Christians have not been putting religion in place of good governance, but a situation where a Muslim group came up and said the next Governor should be a Muslim. We consider that as marginalisation”
“If we are thinking of justice and fair play, Christian should become the next Governor of Osun state.”
Adeoye contended that by the time the current governor will be completing his tenure in 2026, Muslim governors would have spent 22 years compared to 7 years spent by Oyinlola.”
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Advice for the people of Osun state
Bishop Adeoye cautioned the people of Osun state, including the political class, to do away with divisive tendencies, urging them to remain one.
“Governors and leaders will come and go. I have been in this state for a very long time, since the time of the military. They all came and they all left while Osun State remains one.
“I don’t like the situations we have found ourselves in with the political gladiators in Osun state. What they are doing is to make people suffer.”
Adeoye urged both the state and the federal governments to resolve the issue of local government funds in the interest of the people.
Davido helping Osun to pay state workers
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that elder statesman and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, alleged that music star Davido, alongside his father Deji Adeleke, and Governor Ademola Adeleke, had been responsible for paying the salaries of Osun state local government workers for months.
George made the claim during an interview on Nigeria Info FM, Lagos, where he said the federal government had failed to remit allowances to the state for about six months.
Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
