Osun Poll: Oyebamiji, Salaam push investment, jobs as Adeleke defends record

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.