Osun Verdict: APC Governors, Senate President Go Home 'Wounded', Disgraced as Voters Speak Loudly

Osun Verdict: APC Governors, Senate President Go Home 'Wounded', Disgraced as Voters Speak Loudly

By Ezekiel Kagbala

The message from Osun State is bigger than the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke. It is a warning to political leaders that power is temporary, but the people’s judgment is permanent.

After an intense campaign across the 30 Local Government Areas, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke, contesting on the platform of the Accord Party, winner of the August 15 governorship election with 511,067 votes, defeating the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes.

The result should not merely be celebrated as another electoral victory. It should be studied carefully by the APC, its governors and, most importantly, the Federal Government.

The Osun Lesson: Governance Is Not About Power Alone

The Osun election demonstrates that political structures, federal connections, campaign machinery and the presence of powerful political figures cannot automatically guarantee victory.

The APC entered the contest with formidable political personalities and the support of several governors and national figures. Yet, when voters entered the polling booths, they made their own decision.

The lesson for APC governors across Nigeria is straightforward: do not mistake political control for popular acceptance.

Where citizens are struggling with the rising cost of food, transportation, housing, electricity, education and healthcare, politicians cannot expect endless loyalty simply because they belong to the ruling party.

Governors must return to the basics of governance: deliver infrastructure, create opportunities, protect lives and property, support businesses, improve education and healthcare, and make government genuinely accessible to ordinary citizens.

Hardship Can Become an Electoral Verdict

The Osun result should also encourage APC governors to pay greater attention to economic hardship in their respective states.

A hungry population is not necessarily an opposition population. But a population that feels ignored, abandoned or oppressed will eventually use the most powerful instrument available to it—the ballot.

Political leaders must therefore understand that voters are not political property.

They cannot be permanently intimidated, persuaded, mobilised or controlled through political structures. The electorate may listen during campaigns, collect campaign materials and attend rallies, but ultimately, voters retain the constitutional right to decide who governs them.

The reported controversies, allegations and tense atmosphere surrounding the Osun election should serve as another warning: political competition must never become a battle for survival.

No election is worth bloodshed.

Traditional Rulers and Grassroots Voices Matter

The positions taken by some traditional rulers and grassroots actors during the Osun contest also demonstrate the importance of community confidence.

The reported support for Adeleke from traditional institutions in places such as Osogbo and Ede reflects how local development can influence political perceptions.

When citizens see roads, bridges, flyovers or other projects in their communities, they judge governments not only by speeches but by what they can physically see and experience.

This is why governors must focus less on political propaganda and more on measurable development.

APC Must Say Goodbye to Politics of Entitlement

The defeat of Oyebamiji should not be interpreted as the end of the APC in Osun. Rather, it should be treated as an opportunity for serious political introspection.

The party must ask difficult questions.

Why did its campaign fail to convince enough voters?

Why did several political heavyweights who campaigned for the party fail to translate their influence into victory?

Why did some prominent politicians and former leaders reportedly lose their own polling units?

And why did the electorate choose continuity under Adeleke despite the enormous political machinery deployed against him?

These questions deserve honest answers—not excuses.

APC must say goodbye to the politics of entitlement.

The era when political leaders assume that party structures automatically translate into votes is gradually disappearing. Nigerians increasingly want performance, accountability and results.

A Message to President Tinubu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must also take the Osun verdict seriously.

The President should be concerned about governance—not merely political calculations ahead of 2027.

Nigeria is passing through a difficult period. The Federal Government must confront the realities of inflation, unemployment, insecurity, poverty and declining purchasing power with urgency.

Political victories cannot substitute for economic relief.

The President should therefore use the remaining years of his administration to demonstrate that government can work for ordinary Nigerians.

Governance must come before politics.

If Nigerians feel that their suffering is being addressed, political narratives will naturally change. But if hardship continues while political leaders concentrate primarily on elections, defections, rallies and power-sharing, the electorate may respond at the ballot box.

The Biggest Winner Is the Voter

Ultimately, the Osun election should remind every Nigerian politician of one fundamental truth:

The voter is the real owner of political power.

Governors come and go. Ministers come and go. Party leaders rise and fall. Political alliances change. But the people remain.

Adeleke's victory should therefore not be interpreted simply as the humiliation of APC or the triumph of Accord. It should be understood as another demonstration of democratic choice.

For the APC, the message is clear: listen to the people, reduce the hardship, govern better and earn their confidence.

For President Tinubu, the message is equally clear: Nigeria needs governance that citizens can feel, not merely politics that politicians can celebrate.

And for all politicians, Osun has delivered the most important lesson of all:

You may control the machinery of government, but you can never permanently control the people.

When voters speak, political power must listen. When voters reject a party, leaders must reflect. And when citizens are suffering, government must act. Osun has spoken. Nigeria should listen.

By Ezekiel KagbalaCoordinator, Niger Delta Civil Society Forum, NDCSF: 

For feedback 08038905146