AdvoKC Urges Adeleke To Commit To Youth, Women Manifesto Like Oyebamiji, Saleem

Women and youth groups in Osun State are calling on Governor Ademola Adeleke to publicly commit to a manifesto outlining their priorities ahead of the 2026 governorship election.

The call was made by the AdvoKC Foundation, which said the governor had yet to respond to the Osun Women and Youth Manifesto, titled The Osun We Deserve, despite receiving copies of the document and a formal request for his commitment.

In a statement signed by its Communications Manager, Luqman Adamu, the foundation said the manifesto was developed from consultations conducted across all 30 Local Government Areas of the state.

According to the organisation, the exercise involved 1,972 respondents, 65 per cent of whom were women, mostly aged between 18 and 35.

The foundation said the consultations identified road infrastructure, reliable electricity, access to clean water, youth employment, drainage and flood resilience, waste management, women- and youth-focused development, and functional healthcare as major priorities among residents.

It said these priorities were subsequently developed into a four-year governance framework, covering the first 100 days of the next administration through 2030.

Adamu said a formal letter was sent to Adeleke’s office in June 2026, accompanied by two copies of the manifesto, requesting that the governor publicly endorse its demands.

He claimed that advocates subsequently held several meetings with members of the governor’s team but had yet to receive a commitment from Adeleke.

According to him, additional copies of the manifesto were later delivered to the governor’s office in further attempts to secure a response.

AdvoKC Foundation alleged that the governor’s representatives repeatedly cited his busy schedule as the reason for the delay.

The organisation contrasted Adeleke’s position with that of the governorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and African Democratic Congress (ADC), whom it said had already signed commitments to the manifesto.

“The demand has not changed since June: commit publicly to the Women and Youth Manifesto, in writing, the same way the APC and ADC candidates already have,” Adamu said.

He said women and young people in the state were not asking the governor for a favour but wanted him to clearly state whether their identified priorities formed part of his governance agenda.

The foundation urged Adeleke to respond publicly to the manifesto, saying the concerns raised by residents should be treated as matters of accountability and governance rather than political demands.

It said the manifesto was designed to provide political leaders with an evidence-based picture of the priorities of women and young people across Osun rather than leave government to determine their needs without consultation.

The organisation maintained that the governor’s failure to respond so far had left residents without a clear indication of his position on the issues contained in the document.