Osun Poll: ADC worked with Adeleke, Accord to defeat APC — Bolaji Abdullahi

Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), recently made it known that the party worked with Accord Party to stop All Progressives Congress (APC) from emerging as winners of the Osun gubernatorial election held on August 15.

This was disclosed by the spokesman of the party during an interview with Trust TV on Monday when he was talking about the ADC’s participation in the election.

Salaam of ADC garnered 17,180 votes, while Ademola Adeleke of Accord Party won the race against the APC contestant, Bola Oyebamiji, with 511,067 votes.

‘APC Defeat Was Victory for Us’

Abdullahi said the ADC had anticipated that the opposition vote could be divided, potentially allowing the APC to win the election.

According to him, the party therefore decided to cooperate with Accord to prevent such an outcome.

“We saw the possibility of collaboration. We saw the possibility earlier enough that if we decided to go full throttle, the possibility that the opposition would divide the votes and the APC would take the victory was there,” he said.

He said the ADC did not consider its candidate’s performance a failure because its primary objective was to prevent the APC from returning to power in Osun.

“That is why we can confidently celebrate what is going on in Osun, because for us, victory means that APC was defeated,” Abdullahi said.

“So we don’t see the fact that our governorship candidate did not emerge as an occasion of defeat or failure. The failure, the defeat of the APC, was a real victory for us.”

Asked whether the ADC directed its supporters to vote for Adeleke, Abdullahi said the party cooperated with the Accord Party, adding that the decision had the backing of the ADC leadership. Campaigns& Elections

‘Opposition Can Defeat APC When United’

Abdullahi said the Osun election demonstrated that opposition parties could defeat the APC if they worked together.

He argued that the experience could serve as a model for opposition parties ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

“It has proved that the opposition working together can actually defeat this incumbent, no matter how awesome they are,” he said.

However, Abdullahi said the ADC would not claim sole credit for Adeleke’s victory.

“When I say that we are not taking credit, we are saying that the credit belongs to the people of Osun state,” he said.

He added that the victory ultimately belonged to Adeleke, who retained his position despite the political challenges surrounding the election.