The Action Peoples Party (APP) has described the just-concluded Osun State governorship election as a major boost to Nigeria’s democratic development, declaring that the exercise has demonstrated that credible elections are possible when electoral institutions are allowed to operate independently.
The party, in a strongly worded assessment of the election, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), its chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, security agencies and, most importantly, the people of Osun State for what it described as their contributions to the successful conduct of the poll.
The APP National Chairman, Uchenna Nnadi, who made the position known at a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, said the significance of the election went beyond the victory or defeat of individual political parties and candidates.
According to him, the real test of an election was whether voters were given a genuine opportunity to determine who governs them through their ballots.
Nnadi said the Osun election had strengthened public confidence in the electoral process, describing it as “a victory for democracy” and urging stakeholders to ensure that the standards witnessed in the state were not allowed to become an isolated experience.
“We, therefore, approach this election not merely from the narrow perspective of partisan victory or defeat, but from the broader and more important perspective of what the election represents for Nigerian democracy.
“While no election is perfect, and there will always be areas requiring improvement, the overall conduct of the Osun election provides encouraging evidence that Nigeria’s electoral process can continue to evolve towards greater credibility, transparency and acceptance.
“For this, we believe that the institutions and individuals who contributed to this outcome deserve recognition. This election is a victory for democracy,” he added.
The party reserved particular commendation for the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, saying his leadership during the Osun election demonstrated the importance of courage, independence and integrity in the management of elections.
Nnadi argued that an electoral commission should function as an impartial referee rather than an institution that determines electoral winners.
He said the responsibility of INEC was to create an environment in which citizens could freely choose their leaders and have their votes counted.
“Mr Chairman, you have demonstrated through the Osun election that the credibility of an electoral institution ultimately depends on the courage, independence and integrity with which its leadership performs its constitutional responsibilities,” he added.
He spoke further: “The most important achievement of any election is not necessarily who wins or who loses. It is whether the people believe that they had a genuine opportunity to determine their leadership through the ballot.
“The Osun election has strengthened that confidence.”
Nnadi went further to describe Amupitan as “a new democratic hero”, while urging him not to rest on the achievement but to institutionalise the lessons of the Osun election across future electoral exercises.
He said the ultimate challenge before INEC was to ensure that the credibility associated with the Osun poll became a permanent feature of Nigeria’s electoral system.
The APP also gave President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a strong endorsement for what it described as the Federal Government’s provision of a level playing field for political parties during the election.
Nnadi said democracy demanded more than merely holding periodic elections, stressing that those in power must demonstrate sufficient political maturity to allow citizens to freely choose their leaders even when the outcome might not favour the governing party.
He said the President deserved commendation for allegedly resisting the temptation to deploy federal power to improperly influence the electoral outcome.
“He allowed the electoral process to take its course. He allowed INEC to operate with the necessary independence. He allowed political parties to compete.
