Former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola has rejected Governor Ademola Adeleke’s claim that he personally gave him a vehicle, insisting that the cars he received were provided by the state government under a law governing the entitlements of former governors.

Oyinlola made the clarification on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, following his decision to withdraw his support for Adeleke’s re-election and endorse the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.

He explained that the Osun State House of Assembly had enacted legislation granting former governors certain benefits, including the replacement of their official vehicles every four years.

“That is far from the truth. It’s a sad development that the governor will continue to tell lies.

“The Osun State House of Assembly enacted the law whereby approval [is given] to whoever has governed the state. One of the things that you approve for a former governor is that for every four years, his vehicle should be changed,” Oyinlola said.

The former governor said he had been out of office for 16 years and, based on the provisions of the law, was still entitled to three additional vehicles.

“I have been out of the Osun State Government in the last 16 years. If you aggregate it, it means the state is still having to give out three vehicles. It wasn’t Ademola that gave me the vehicle; it was the Osun State Government. It is a law of the state enacted by the House of Assembly,” he said.

Oyinlola added that the benefits available to former governors under the law also include security personnel, drivers and a cook.

He dismissed the suggestion that he had approached Adeleke to request a vehicle, saying he had been buying cars since he was 21 and had no reason to beg the governor for one.

“I did not walk to his place when he said I was begging for a vehicle. By the grace of God, I had started buying cars since I was 21. When I was going to the Government House, I went with my entire convoy.

“So, how will he paint it as if I went to beg? That is a sad development. He should say it the way it is in the law. It is my entitlement, and he still owes me three more vehicles,” Oyinlola said.

The controversy followed Oyinlola’s decision to back Oyebamiji despite previously supporting Adeleke’s re-election bid.

Adeleke had accused the former governor of opposing his political aspirations on several occasions, including his Senate ambition in 2007 and his governorship campaigns in 2018 and 2022.

The governor said Oyinlola later sought reconciliation after Adeleke emerged victorious in 2022, which he accepted because of his “forgiving spirit”.

Adeleke also claimed that Oyinlola complained about not having a vehicle and that he subsequently provided one.

The governor went on to dismiss Oyinlola’s political influence, describing him as a “paperweight” and insisting that his endorsement of the APC candidate would not determine the election outcome.

Oyinlola, however, said his decision to support Oyebamiji was based on his concerns over what he described as a lack of inclusiveness in Adeleke’s administration.

Although he declared support for the APC candidate, Oyinlola said he remained a member of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The Osun governorship election, scheduled for Saturday, August 15, has 15 candidates on the ballot, with voters across the state’s 30 local government areas expected to elect the governor for the next four years.