NOW THAT OSUN PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN… 

All contestants must respect the will of the people, writes OPEYEMI BAMIDELE

After three months of vigorous campaigning, the governorship election of Osun State has now come to a conclusion. The exercise culminated in the re-election of Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, polling 511,067 votes. The candidate of our great party, All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Bola Oyebamiji finished the race with 444,815 votes while Rt. Hon. Najeem Salam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) obtained 17,180 votes. With this outcome, the election ended with 51.57% voter turnout based on the total number of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected. The turnout, no doubt, perfectly reflects rapidly growing confidence that the people at different levels are showing in the leadership recruitment process of our fatherland.

The summary of the entire process, again, perfectly reminds us where the final power actually lies in democracy. As shown in the recent elections across the federation, the final decision lies with the people, the true and ultimate arbiter of every democracy. Now that the people of Osun State have spoken, all contestants must accept and respect the decision of the majority. In democracy, globally, the decision of the majority is not only legitimate and supreme, but also remains the final choice that will define public governance within the timeframe that the constitution prescribes for a government. 

In Osun, the decision of the majority does not only confirm the re-election of Governor Adeleke. It equally places the burden of victory on the elected candidate. This burden requires him to come up with clearly defined post-election measures that will effectively first reunite the state’s indigenes and residents across all the political divides. The essence of such measures is rooted in the promotion of enduring peace and stability that every political system requires to translate electoral victory to service delivery.

While politics is often based on the principle of partisanship to a specific political party, governance entails a collective approach that must not exclude any section of the state because its significance purely aims at addressing public challenges. To drive a truly inclusive governance, Governor Adeleke must look beyond the political platform that nominated him for the contest and extend his hands of fellowship to other candidates and political parties with a view to building a resilient state that functions in the interests of all people regardless of their leanings. 

To other candidates, we must all understand that democracy can only thrive when all key actors accept the decision of the majority in a fairly contested election. Some elements of fairness and credibility are evident in the just concluded election, especially with the defeat of the candidate of the country’s governing party. The election has now been concluded; all other candidates should sheathe their swords and join forces with the elected candidate to drive an all-inclusive governance that will redefine the future of the state.

On this premise, I strongly encourage the candidate of our great party, Mr. Bola Oyebamiji to contact Governor Adeleke; congratulate him on his re-election and constructively share with him innovative policy ideas that can help him serve the interests of our people much better. For me, the APC did not lose the election given the background that Governor Adeleke was coming from as a member of the APC before he defected to the Peoples Democratic Party. Aside, he has always been committed to the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. Governor Adeleke’s re-election, therefore, is not just the victory for ACCORD, but also for us in the APC. 

With 51.57% turnout, the outcome of the Osun poll holds much clearer directions for us in the APC in no distant future. Its implications are in three folds, even more. First, with synergy in our ranks, the election outcome simply suggests that we can achieve at least 60% voter turnout in all South-west states in 2027. Second, with strategic collaboration with all political actors, the election outcome suggests that our task of mobolising 10 million votes for President Tinubu’s re-election in the South-west alone is already on the horizon if we effectively leverage the gains of the Osun poll. Now that the Osun election has been concluded, this task must now be our priority as we move closer to the 2027 elections.

Finally, the outcome of the process establishes the need to urgently review and strengthen our campaign strategy as a potent instrument for further engagement with all stakeholders in the South-west and beyond. We must engage meaningfully all the stakeholders – the artisans and marketers, farmers and entrepreneurs, youths and women, labour unions and civil society, community leaders and traditional rulers, business leaders and private sector, the aged and all categories of Nigerians to whom we have obligation to serve. 

Our engagement approach, more than any time in our recent history, must be all-encompassing, and it must not leave any person or interest behind. As patriotic members of our great party, we much with a view to showcasing how President Tinubu has repositioned our Nation for global competitiveness; how he has decisively resolved our nation’s perennial fiscal crises; how he confronted security challenges with courage and resilience; how he has been deepening public confidence in our democratic process and what he has been doing to create transgenerational prosperity for our people across all strata of the federation.

I therefore congratulate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the successful conduct of the Osun election whose outcome is not in doubt, should it be in contest for any reason. To Governor Adeleke, your re-election reaffirms the supremacy of the people in democracy, and this comes with a huge responsibility that demands a collective approach. To the APC and its candidate, we have competed with courage, ideas and vigour, but the people decided otherwise. The outcome of this election does not make us a loser, but indeed a true stakeholder in the progress and posterity of Osun State. I finally congratulate all the sons and daughters of the state with a firm belief that the election outcome will take Osun to greater heights economically, socially and technologically.

Senator Bamidele, CON

Leader of the Senate, and Chairman,

National Assembly South-West Caucus