Osun Experience 2027: Lawyers, Activists Say Nigerians Must Replicate Adeleke’s Victory
Lawyers, activists and other stakeholders have called on Nigerians to emulate the vigilance shown by Osun State voters during last Saturday’s governorship election, describing the state’s electoral experience as a template that should be replicated ahead of the 2027 general election.
During last Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State, a video trended online showing residents of Ward Okerewe 3, in Ife East Local Government Area, on motorcycles, following a minibus conveying election results to the collation centre. On noticing that the driver of the minibus was making phone calls while driving, the vigilant residents shouted at him to end the call and stay focused, warning him that they were monitoring him as he carried their votes. A separate video that surfaced after the election showed large numbers of Osun citizens trooping to the INEC collation centre in Osogbo as early as 2:00am to watch over the process themselves.
Incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke was subsequently declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, with many commending the resilience of Osun voters amid reported violence and their determination to ensure their votes counted. Official results showed Adeleke polling 511,067 votes to defeat his closest rival, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, who gathered 444,815 votes, while the ADC’s Najeem Salaan finished a distant third with 17,180 votes.
With the nation preparing for next year’s general election, activists, lawyers and other stakeholders have tasked the Nigerian electorate to emulate Osun voters and protect their votes, describing the Osun experience as a signal to tyrants and a profound lesson in collective action, while warning against complacency going forward.
The declaration triggered an immediate wave of reactions on social media, with many Nigerians drawing direct parallels between the Osun outcome and the 2027 polls. One user wrote, “It is now left for Nigerians to capitalise on this victory and replicate same in 2027 and chase APC out. Congratulations to the people of Osun State,” while another declared that the voice of the masses was greater than any electoral misconduct, intimidation or irregularity.
Beyond the reactions of ordinary Nigerians, political figures have also weighed in on the broader implications of the result. The Kabiru Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party said the strategy adopted by the Accord Party to secure Adeleke’s re-election must be replicated by Nigerians to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027, even as forces within the Presidency were said to be pressing Adeleke to honour his pledge to support Tinubu’s re-election bid. Former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike also weighed in, arguing that if Tinubu had wanted to win Osun “at all costs,” he would have been directly involved, and that Adeleke’s victory demonstrated that the Federal Government did not use its influence to manipulate the outcome.
Reactions to the victory have not been uniformly celebratory, however, with some stakeholders, including a Cross River State senatorial aspirant, congratulating Adeleke while others urged Nigerians to look beyond the declaration and continue demanding greater transparency from INEC. Meanwhile, Pelumi Olajengbesi, spokesperson for the Adeleke Governorship Campaign Council, has separately vowed that the Accord Party would replicate its Osun victory in the 2027 general elections at the National Assembly level as well, specifically targeting the seat of six-term lawmaker Oluwole Oke.
As Nigeria’s political class continues to debate what the “Osun template” means for 2027, the specific issue of citizen vigilance during collation and result transmission, highlighted by the viral videos from Ward Okerewe 3 and the Osogbo collation centre, has emerged as the central lesson stakeholders are urging voters nationwide to internalise ahead of next year’s polls.
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