Leaders and traditional rulers in Osogbo have drawn a firm line in the sand, insisting that the 2026 governorship ticket of major political parties must be zoned to the state capital.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed Saturday, August 8, 2026, for the Osun governorship election. Yet, in 34 years of the state’s existence, no indigene of Osogbo has ever occupied the governorship, despite the city’s historical role as a decisive political force.

Speaking on OSBC Radio’s current affairs programme, High Chief Jimoh Ibrahim, Baale of Gbodofon and Chairman of the Council of Baales, said Osogbo is now united like never before. “The Elders Council has rallied all Baales in Osogbo. We speak with one voice: the governorship must come home. We will do everything within our power to make it happen,” he asserted.

High Chief Ibrahim credited Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun, for creating the Osogbo Action Committee and the Elders Council, which have successfully ended divisions that previously weakened the city’s political clout.

Echoing this position, Prince Adeleke Oduola Ibiloye, Chairman of the Osogbo Elders Council, warned that Osogbo’s patience has limits. “We have supported other towns in the past. It is now time for Osun to return the favor. The 2026 governorship slot belongs to Osogbo, and we are determined to claim it,” he said.

With several prominent Osogbo indigenes already preparing to contest under the APC, PDP, and ADC, the city’s leadership exudes confidence that 2026 will mark the end of decades of political exclusion.