Governor Adeleke,
The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) of receiving a N172 million inducement to publicly endorse Governor Ademola Adeleke for a second term during the 2025 Workers’ Day celebration.
In a statement released on Thursday by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, the APC alleged that labour union leaders in the state were financially motivated to adopt Governor Adeleke’s candidacy for re-election.
“We gathered that the organized labour organisations in the state have been induced to adopt the Governor Adeleke for the second term during the May Day anniversary slated for the Fakunle Comprehensive High School, Osogbo, Osun State,” the statement read.
Olabisi further claimed the funds had already been disbursed among various labour factions.
“To this effect, it has been scooped that the state government has made available the sum of N172 million for the leadership of NLC.”
“With the sharing formula of N97 million for the factionalized NULGE while both the NLC and the TUC are smiling to the bank with a sum of N75 million each meaning that the Governor Adeleke-led government coughed out N172 million as an inducement for the labour unions to adopt him for second term on May Day,” he stated.
The APC also criticized the state’s preparations for the Workers’ Day celebration, describing them as a facade to boost the governor’s popularity.
“Information has it that the purpose of the cash inducement by the state government for the labour unions is to encourage the leaders of the unions to adopt the candidature of Governor Adeleke for second term during the May Day celebration.
“In order to make the forceful second term adoption exercise rosy, the state government has bought Ankara uniforms for all the government workers in the state with a directive to them to flood the venue of the event on the May Day in order to give a false popularity and acceptability to the embattled Governor Adeleke whose popularity is waning on daily basis for acts of mis-governance.”
In response, the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Bimbo Fasasi, dismissed the allegations as unfounded and unworthy of attention.
“Laughable! That’s all I can say. It is a cheap blackmail, baseless and unworthy of occupying public space for discussion,” Fasasi stated in a brief text message.
