The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has declared his support for the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Osun State, Bola Oyebamiji, ahead of Saturday’s election.

Ajayi said Oyebamiji demonstrated a stronger understanding of governance and public finance during the town hall meeting organised by Arise TV for candidates contesting the August 15 governorship election.

Oyebamiji is facing the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, and the African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salaam.

In a series of posts on his X handle on Wednesday, Ajayi said Osun voters needed to choose a chief executive capable of managing the state’s limited resources rather than an entertainer or professional campaigner.

He said, “The state is not recruiting an entertainer, a professional campaigner or a permanent opposition politician. It is recruiting a chief executive to manage a financially constrained public enterprise called Osun State. On the evidence of what I saw at the town hall, Oyebamiji made the stronger case that he understands that job.”

Ajayi said that based on policy articulation, knowledge of facts, fiscal realism and managerial competence, Oyebamiji performed better than the other candidates at the town hall.

He argued that the APC candidate’s experience as a former banker, Commissioner for Finance and Managing Director of Osun State Investment Holdings gave him an advantage in understanding public finance and governance.

“His emphasis was on how public resources should be managed to lift people out of social and economic difficulty, rather than become instruments of personal or familial aggrandisement,” he said.

Ajayi also highlighted Oyebamiji’s claim that the administration of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, during which he served as Commissioner for Finance, met its financial obligations without taking fresh loans and left about N16bn in the state treasury.

He said the claim could be independently verified, adding that governorship elections should focus on competing records, policies and managerial capacity rather than popularity.

The presidential aide also criticised Adeleke’s performance at the town hall, saying the governor spent considerable time attacking former governors Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Gboyega Oyetola instead of making a stronger case for his administration’s achievements.

According to Ajayi, Adeleke’s presentation was “forceful and combative”, but political attacks could not substitute for an account of his administration’s record.

“A candidate asking voters for another four years should be able to make the election principally about his record, not the shortcomings of predecessors,” he said.

On the ADC candidate, Najeem Salaam, Ajayi said his campaign promises were ambitious but lacked sufficient explanation of how they would be financed.

He warned that extensive government intervention and promises of free services could place additional pressure on Osun’s finances if elected.

“If he became governor, he would become another Aregbesola in office with bogus programmes and unsustainable projects and throw Osun State into a fiscal cul-de-sac,” Ajayi said.