‘Bring All The Governors, I Am A Bulldozer’: Adeleke Dares APC Days To Osun Poll

OSOGBO — Osun State Governor and Accord Party governorship candidate, Ademola Adeleke, has declared himself unshaken by what he called the combined federal might of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the governors rallying behind its candidate, describing himself as a “bulldozer” that intimidation cannot stop, just four days before Osun State returns to the polls.

ValidViewNetwork gathered that the governor made the declaration on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at the Arise Townhall Meeting organised for candidates in the Osun governorship race, a live forum that put him face to face with questions about whether federal pressure could tilt Saturday’s election away from him.

What Adeleke Said

Checks by ValidViewNetwork confirm that when pressed on the alleged backing the APC candidate was receiving from the Federal Government and a coalition of governors, Adeleke dismissed the threat outright, insisting that no show of political force from Abuja would determine the outcome in Osun.

“I am a bulldozer. I am not afraid of federal might and governors backing the APC candidate. If they like, they should bring all the governors,” the governor said at the town hall.

Findings show that the remark fits a pattern the governor has leaned on consistently in the run up to the election, framing himself as a figure whose grassroots support in Osun outweighs whatever institutional weight the opposition can mobilise from the centre.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the governor has previously argued that federal might should be reserved for delivering good governance rather than for tilting elections, pointing at various points to federally backed projects like the Ibadan-Ilesa road reconstruction as proof that not every use of federal power is aimed against him.

A Defiant Closing Message

This is not Adeleke’s first brush with the “federal might” question this election cycle. ValidViewNetwork gathered that as far back as October 2025, while being screened at his party’s national secretariat in Abuja, the governor had already dismissed similar concerns, telling reporters his popularity alone made him “not afraid of federal might” and that the President would be cautious about disrupting an election that comes ahead of the wider 2027 general election cycle.

Checks by ValidViewNetwork confirm that in the months since, he has repeatedly warned his own party structure across Osun’s 332 wards against complacency, urging supporters not to sell their permanent voter cards and describing threats of rigging as empty intimidation.

The governor’s defiant tone on Tuesday also lands against the backdrop of a tightening race. ValidViewNetwork understands that his re-election bid, which analysts have described as a contest between his grassroots charisma and incumbency on one hand and the APC’s deeper institutional and financial backing on the other, has drawn commentary from political watchers warning that the combination of federal pressure and a strong third candidate has historically not favoured governors in Adeleke’s position.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Dancing Governor Narratives

ValidViewNetwork notes that Tuesday’s “bulldozer” declaration came only hours after the governor was still fielding a different, though related, line of criticism, questions over whether his famed public dancing signals a lack of seriousness in office.

Earlier on Tuesday, Adeleke had insisted in a separate response to critics that “as I am dancing, I am working,” rejecting suggestions that his energetic public persona undermines his capacity to govern.

Taken together, both moments on the same day point to a single campaign posture in the final stretch, a governor determined to answer every character and capability question raised against him directly, whether the challenge concerns his hobby or his readiness to withstand federal pressure, rather than allow either narrative to sit unanswered heading into Saturday’s vote.

What Happens Next

With results expected between August 16 and August 17, 2026, ValidViewNetwork understands that both camps are now in their final full day of campaigning before Saturday’s election, with Adeleke’s “bulldozer” framing likely to feature prominently in Accord Party messaging through election day as a direct counter to APC claims of overwhelming institutional advantage.