Rauf Aregbesola, national secretary of the African Democratic Congress, has cited President Bola Tinubu’s loss in Lagos during the 2023 presidential election as proof that governors lack the power to determine electoral outcomes.
The former Osun governor made the remarks on Tuesday, January 27, while speaking at the Abuja launch of ‘The Loyalist’, a book written by Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the ADC.
Aregbesola argued that despite the APC controlling Lagos and nearly all south-west states during the last election, the results told a different story.
“The APC candidate (Tinubu) lost his ward, local government and state, so please, for goodness’ sake, when it is claimed that governors win elections against the people’s will — where?,” he asked.
He noted that even in APC strongholds, the party’s performance fell short of total dominance.
“Despite this, the maximum performance of the party in that election was 55 percent, with the other parties sharing the rest,” he said.
The south-east results were even more telling, according to Aregbesola.
“The APC had only 5.8 percent of the total vote from that zone. The results of these two zones clearly show that governors do not win elections — the people do.”
READ ALSO: 2027: Aregbesola Rallies Support for ADC, Says ‘God Has Left APC’
His comments come against the backdrop of mass defections to the APC by PDP governors including Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, Peter Mbah of Enugu, Douye Diri of Bayelsa, Agbu Kefas of Taraba, Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau.
Numerous federal and state lawmakers, former governors, ex-ministers and other political figures have also joined the ruling party.
Tinubu and APC leaders have dismissed concerns that Nigeria is heading toward one-party rule.
Aregbesola, who left the APC for the ADC last year, expressed concern about the current political climate.
“Something is going on that is worrisome, especially for those of us who are democrats or aspire to be democrats,” he said.
“The fact that certain governors are defecting to the APC shows that our unity is weakened. I laugh because recent statistics in Nigeria, based on the last election, do not support this belief,” he added.
He urged those managing elections to ensure credibility in future polls.
“So first, commit yourself to a free and fair election, and let us see what the result will be,” he added.