The Osun State Government has described the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s attempt to market its governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, as “youth-friendly” as political mockery, insisting that youths in the state have not forgotten the hardship associated with the party’s time in office.

In a statement issued on Sunday by the Spokesperson to the Governor, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, the government said Osun youths are neither politically naive nor historically forgetful, stressing that they vividly remember the half-salary regime and its devastating impact on families across the state.

Rasheed said it was “insulting” for the APC to present one of the “chief architects of the half-salary era” as a champion of youth interests, noting that the period was marked by unpaid and underpaid workers, abandoned pensioners and widespread economic anxiety in homes.

According to him, the consequences of that era were borne largely by young people, as parents struggled to pay school fees, meet basic needs and plan their lives.

“Osun youths vote based on lived experience, not slogans. They remember when survival became a daily struggle, when frustration and uncertainty defined their future,” the statement said.

The spokesperson contrasted that period with the policies of Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, whom he said has deliberately prioritised workers’ welfare as a pathway to youth stability and development.

He noted that the Adeleke administration pays salaries promptly and in full, clears pension arrears inherited from past governments, and has implemented and improved on the minimum wage.

“These are decisions rooted in empathy and understanding of human reality, not politics,” Rasheed said, adding that stable homes translate to stable futures for young people.

The government also highlighted the administration’s local content and economic empowerment policies, which it said have boosted artisans, traders and small business owners, many of whom are youths or parents supporting young dependants.

“This is what genuine youth-friendly governance looks like in practice, not propaganda,” the statement added.

Rasheed advised the APC to seek forgiveness for the hardship experienced by families during its tenure in power, rather than attempting what he described as manipulation through rebranding.

He said Governor Adeleke remains confident of the support of Osun people ahead of the 2026 election, stressing that youths have already made their choice based on tangible improvements in their lives.

“The 2026 election will not be decided by political tricks or empty promises,” he said, adding that Osun youths and families are determined not to return to an era that “broke homes and strained the future of a generation.”