Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has attributed the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) defeat in the August 15 Osun State governorship election to the intervention of what he described as “Abuja politicians.”
Sule made the remarks on Tuesday during a press briefing in Lafia while reflecting on the outcome of the keenly contested election.
The governor also said the result highlighted the significant advantage enjoyed by an incumbent governor in a governorship election.
Incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party defeated APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji and 14 other candidates in the poll.
Adeleke secured 511,067 votes, while Oyebamiji polled 444,815 votes. The ADC candidate, Najeem Salaam, came third with 17,180 votes. Adeleke won 19 of Osun’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won the remaining 11.
Speaking on the APC’s performance, Sule said the party would have had a better chance of winning had certain politicians from Abuja not intervened in the state shortly before the election.
“I see some people are actually happy and they are celebrating that APC has lost. APC lost partly because of the Abuja politicians,” he said.
“Because if not for some of these Abuja politicians, there was no way for APC to lose in Osun.”
Sule said the outcome should instead be seen as a demonstration of the political influence wielded by a sitting governor during a state election.
“But what it means is that the power of a sitting governor is not something you can joke around. That’s the message that was sent actually in Osun,” he said.
He further argued that those celebrating Adeleke’s victory might not fully appreciate the role played by the incumbent governor’s political structure in the election.
“For people who are celebrating, they don’t even understand what the hell they are celebrating,” Sule said, adding that the victory reflected “the power of a sitting governor in Osun.”
The APC has rejected the outcome of the election and questioned aspects of the electoral process. President Bola Tinubu, however, congratulated Adeleke following his victory.
Sule also defended the performance of the Tinubu administration, saying the APC’s defeat in Osun should not be interpreted as a rejection of the President’s performance at the federal level.
“I’m not going to brag about anything that we are going to do, but what I can tell you is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done well,” he said.