By Junior Odebode
A 39-year-old entrepreneur, Olajide Esan, has emerged as the governorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) for the 2026 Osun State governorship election.
Esan, who is an entrepreneur, emerged through a consensus arrangement at the party’s primary held on Saturday. The exercise was monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Speaking with journalists after the primary at the party’s secretariat in the Powerline area of Osogbo, the Osun State Chairman of AAC, Tayo Adeyemi, said Esan emerged with the backing of party members across the state.
Adeyemi described the exercise as free, fair and credible, adding that it reflected the democratic ideals of the party.
In his acceptance speech, Esan criticised the country’s major political parties, accusing them of poor leadership.
“The big political parties are oppressing us in this nation. Their type of leadership has weaponised poverty, they have subjugated the public by oppressing them. We have a systemic problem in Nigeria,” he said.
“The system of this country has set us all up to become criminals. We must fight this. The current leadership will not do the right thing for us as citizens because it will not pay them. We must collectively enthrone good leadership.”
Esan promised that if elected, his administration would prioritise transparency and citizens’ welfare.
“When elected, I will create a ministry to check every citizen, to advocate for good welfare,” he said.
He called on Osun residents and voters to unite behind AAC in the 2026 election, urging them to reject the dominance of the APC, PDP and Accord Party.
“AAC will embark on voter education. Don’t think that a saviour is coming from outside. I am here for service,” he said.
Esan also pledged to fight vote-buying and promote accountability in governance.
“My government will create a website that will display all public funds. You will all see how money is being spent. We must condemn vote buying at all costs. We have arrangements within our party to fight vote buying,” he added.
He said the party’s mission was to empower young people and return governance to the people.
“The system of this country will frustrate the potential in youths. Our mission is to take government from criminals and give it to the general public,” Esan said.
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