Wike, Davido React to Adeleke’s Osun Victory as APC Weighs Legal Challenge
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election in the August 15 Osun State governorship poll came about because President Bola Tinubu allowed a genuinely free and fair contest to take place. Speaking on Tuesday during an inspection tour of flood-affected areas in the FCT, Wike dismissed allegations that the Federal Government had manipulated the election in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress, insisting that the outcome showed the Tinubu administration had not deployed federal power to frustrate the opposition. He argued that Adeleke’s victory would never have been possible had the President sought to influence the election’s outcome, pointing to Tinubu’s congratulatory call to Adeleke as evidence that federal might had not been mobilised against the governor.
Wike went further while speaking with journalists during a separate inspection of flood-prone areas in Maitama, stating plainly that he personally would have travelled to Osun State to help the APC secure victory had President Tinubu wanted the party to win the election at all costs. The minister, who remains a member of the PDP despite continuing to support the Tinubu administration, stressed that no federal might had actually been used in Osun, adding that Nigerians would clearly recognise the true force of the Federal Government whenever it chose to deploy it in full. He further suggested that Governor Adeleke could ordinarily have been an APC member under different political circumstances, while expressing confidence that the 2027 presidential election could prove even easier for Tinubu than the 2023 contest, describing the current opposition as crippled and without direction.
Adeleke ultimately polled 511,067 votes to defeat APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes, giving the incumbent governor a winning margin of 66,252 votes, while carrying 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas against Oyebamiji’s 11. Despite the scale of the victory, Wike cautioned against reading the Osun result as a direct signal of what might unfold in the 2027 presidential election.
On the opposition side, the All Progressives Congress in Osun State has continued to withhold formal recognition of Adeleke’s victory as it reviews the outcome of the poll. Director-General of the APC’s Osun governorship campaign, Oluwole Oke, explained during an interview that the party remained focused on examining the election records before reaching any conclusion, noting that the party had yet to congratulate Adeleke despite Tinubu himself having already done so following INEC’s declaration. Oke appealed to party supporters and the general public to allow the APC sufficient time to complete its review before announcing its next line of action.
The party’s Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, confirmed in a statement issued in Osogbo that the APC leadership was studying the results of the election and would seek professional legal advice before determining a definitive course of action, while urging party members to remain calm and avoid reacting to any provocative behaviour. The party stressed that election as a process extends well beyond the declared result, running through the Tribunal, the Court of Appeal and ultimately terminating at the Supreme Court, signalling that legal avenues remained firmly on the table. Olabisi also raised concern over reports of APC members being harassed following the declaration, appealing to the Nigeria Police Force to protect party supporters described as being needlessly targeted by members of the ruling party across the state.
Beyond the political and legal reactions, Afrobeats star Davido, Governor Adeleke’s nephew, also weighed in following the declared result, framing his uncle’s victory as a hard-fought battle against a coalition of political heavyweights mobilised by the opposition, and praising Osun residents for standing firmly behind the governor throughout the process. With APC’s internal review still ongoing and legal options reportedly being weighed, attention across Osun State’s political landscape remains fixed on whether the party will ultimately pursue a tribunal challenge or formally accept the outcome of the August 15 poll.
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