Use election to demonstrate readiness for 2027 polls, Tinubu tells INEC
ADEMU IDAKWO and JOSHUA DADA
The leading candidates in today’s governorship election in Osun State have expressed confidence in victory but outlined conditions that would determine whether they accept the outcome.
While insisting that they cannot lose the election, the candidates said the poll must be free, fair and transparent, with their supporters protected from intimidation.
The candidates include the Accord Party candidate and incumbent governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke; the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji; the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaami; and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Dr Francis Ajala.
The candidates said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must conduct a credible election that is not only acceptable to the political parties but also seen as free and fair by the electorate.
Mr Pelumi Olajengbesi, spokesman for the Imole Campaign Council, who spoke with one of our correspondents on Adeleke’s behalf, said the governor and members of his team were not contemplating defeat.
Similarly, the Osun State APC director of media and information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, dismissed suggestions that Oyebamiji could lose the election, saying the party was confident of victory.
The ADC also expressed confidence in its candidate, with its spokesman, Mr Oluwaseun Abosede, saying Salaami would emerge victorious.
Asked what the APC would do if the election did not go in its favour, Olabisi said, “We cannot lose the election. The reward for hard work is success, which is expected of our governorship candidate, Asiwaju Muniru Oyebamiji.
“Our members and supporters have been toiling day and night to win it. At the same time, Governor Adeleke was busy wining, dining and frolicking across the globe under the pretext of seeking foreign investors, with no luck for nearly four years. Our candidate is not a pretender; he is a serious contender who knows no failure.”
On the circumstances that could lead the APC to reject the election outcome, Olabisi said the party had confidence in INEC’s ability to conduct a credible poll.
“We are confident in INEC’s ability to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive election in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, as amended,” he said.
“Only if the commission jettisons the existing Electoral Act will there be any issues. We should not even discuss the circumstances under which we might reject the election outcome. When we reach the river, we shall devise a means to cross it.”
Olabisi said strict adherence to the Electoral Act would determine whether the election was free, fair, credible and inclusive.
“Our candidate is a serious contender who expects nothing short of victory at the polls. As I said earlier, the reward of hard work is success. Our candidate will definitely win the election. He has worked for it; he is well prepared. The people of the state love him. His supporters mill around him like ants to sugar,” he said.
Asked whether the APC would encourage its supporters to remain calm and pursue legal channels if the outcome was disputed, he said the party expected its candidate to win but would use the appropriate legal processes if necessary.
“We are not pessimists in our party, and we expect our candidate to win the election clearly. However, I agree that legal channels are part of the acceptable processes for the governorship election and could be used if necessary,” he said.
Also speaking, Olajengbesi told LEADERSHIP Weekend that Adeleke and members of his political party, Accord, were not considering the possibility of defeat.
