Abdullahi Sule: Abuja politicians contributed to APC’s Osun defeat

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has attributed the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) defeat in the August 15 Osun State governorship election partly to what he described as the intervention of “Abuja politicians” in the state’s political affairs shortly before the poll.

Sule made the assertion on Wednesday during a press briefing in Lafia, where he also stressed the influence and advantages enjoyed by incumbent governors during elections.

The APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, lost the election to the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, who contested under the Accord Party.

Adeleke polled 511,067 votes to defeat Oyebamiji, who secured 444,815 votes, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, came a distant third with 17,180 votes.

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The incumbent won 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji secured victory in the remaining 11.

Reacting to the outcome, Sule said the APC would have had a stronger chance of winning the election had some politicians based in Abuja not intervened in the state shortly before the poll.

“I see some people are actually happy and they are celebrating that APC has lost. APC lost partly because of the Abuja politicians,” Sule said.

He argued that the defeat demonstrated the importance of incumbency in state elections, particularly where a sitting governor is seeking another term.

“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.

The Nasarawa governor also dismissed the suggestion that the APC’s defeat in Osun amounted to a rejection of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

Sule maintained that the Tinubu administration had recorded achievements despite the political setback suffered by the party in Osun.

“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.

He further argued that those celebrating Adeleke’s victory might be overlooking the underlying factors that shaped the outcome of the election.

“For people who are celebrating, they don’t even understand what the hell they are celebrating,” Sule said.

“What they are celebrating is that the power of a sitting governor in Osun is what has stopped them from winning.”

The APC has rejected the outcome of the election and indicated its intention to challenge the result, while Adeleke has continued to receive congratulatory messages following his re-election.