ADC collaborated with Accord to defeat APC in Osun — Abdullahi

The African Democratic Congress says it collaborated with the Accord Party during the August 15 Osun State governorship election to prevent the All Progressives Congress from reclaiming power in the state.

National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, disclosed this on Trust TV on Monday while reacting to the party’s performance in the election.

The ADC’s governorship candidate, Najeem Salaam, polled 17,180 votes in the election, while incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party won with 511,067 votes, defeating his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the APC, who secured 444,815 votes.

Asked why the party’s performance was below expectations, Abdullahi said the ADC had identified the possibility of opposition votes being divided, which could have given the APC an advantage.

The reasoning, according to the scribe, led the coalition to work with the Accord Party.

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

“And that was why we saw the opportunity to work together. And that was what happened.”

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

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

“So we don’t see the fact that our governor did not emerge as an indication of defeat or failure. For us, the failure, the defeat of the APC, was a real victory for us,” he said.

Asked whether the ADC had directed its supporters to vote for Adeleke, Abdullahi said, “We co-operated with the Accord Party.”

According to him, the decision was deliberate and had the backing of the ADC leadership.

Abdullahi said the development demonstrated that opposition parties could defeat the ruling APC in the 2027 presidential election if they worked together.

“It’s something that was deliberate, and we are glad that the outcome has justified the confidence that everyone has put in the process, and it has proved that the opposition working together can actually defeat this incumbent, no matter how awesome they are,” he said.

He, however, said the ADC would not claim sole credit for Adeleke’s victory, stressing that the people of Osun deserved the credit.

“But I’m saying that we are not taking credit. We are saying that the credit belongs to the people of Osun State,” Abdullahi said.

“The victory belongs to Ademola Adeleke. And in spite of all odds, he still managed to emerge as the governor of Osun State.”

The ADC spokesman also dismissed claims that the party’s poor performance was linked to resentment against its national secretary and former Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola.

“That is not true. That is not true. Anybody saying that is not being charitable, because the entire leadership of the party was in Osun in the days leading to the election.

“And we saw the kind of overwhelming support that Rauf Aregbesola still controlled in Osun State,” he said.

Abdullahi described claims about Aregbesola’s treatment of civil servants while in office as “oppositionality”, saying Aregbesola remained popular in the state.

He said the ADC’s decision to collaborate with Accord was deliberate and not motivated by resentment or a desire to punish any political actor.

“It’s something that was deliberate, and we are glad that the outcome has justified the confidence that everyone has put in the process, and it has proved that the opposition working together can actually defeat this incumbent, no matter how awesome they are,” he said.