The African Democratic Congress has explained its poor showing in the August 15 Osun State governorship election, saying the party deliberately worked with the Accord Party to prevent the All Progressives Congress from winning the poll.
The ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, disclosed this during an interview with Trust TV, explaining that the party’s low vote tally was largely a consequence of the political understanding it reached with the eventual winner, Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party.
According to Abdullahi, the ADC entered into the arrangement with the broader objective of stopping the APC from taking control of the Osun State Government.
He said the outcome should therefore not be interpreted simply as evidence of the ADC’s lack of electoral strength, arguing that the party made a strategic decision to work with Accord in the interest of its political objective.
The ADC had fielded former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Najeem Salaam, as its governorship candidate in the election.
However, the party finished third after Adeleke of Accord and the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke winner after he polled 511,067 votes, while Oyebamiji secured 444,815 votes. Salaam finished with 17,180 votes.
Adeleke won 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji secured 11.
Abdullahi’s comments provide an explanation for the relatively low number of votes recorded by the ADC despite the party’s decision to participate in the election.
He suggested that the political calculation was centred on preventing the APC from emerging victorious, with the ADC’s collaboration with Accord contributing to the eventual outcome.
The development also highlights the complex alliances that shaped the Osun election, which featured a three-way contest involving the incumbent governor, the APC candidate and the ADC candidate.
The ADC spokesman’s disclosure is expected to generate further debate about the extent of cooperation between the two opposition parties before and during the election and how the arrangement influenced the distribution of votes across the state.
With the election now concluded, attention is expected to shift to the implications of the alliance for future political contests in Osun and the wider political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Advertisement