Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has described President Bola Tinubu’s reaction to the All Progressives Congress’ defeat in the August 15 Osun governorship election as evidence of growing democratic maturity in Nigeria.
Sanwo-Olu made the statement on Thursday while speaking at the seventh annual lecture organised by Freedom Online.
He highlighted the election, which saw the APC candidate lose to the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, who contested on the platform of another political party, saying the outcome demonstrated that political power could change hands through the ballot.
According to the Lagos governor, Tinubu accepted the result and congratulated Adeleke the following day, while also urging him to unite the state.
Sanwo-Olu said, “About 19-20 days ago, on the 15th of August, the people of Osun State elected a governor. The candidate of my party, the President’s party, lost.
“The incumbent, Governor Ademola Adeleke, of a different party, won by more than 60,000 votes. The President did not sulk and he did not equivocate. He picked up the telephone the following day, congratulated the winner, urged him to unite the state, and thanked INEC and the security agencies for a peaceful and transparent election.”
READ ALSO: Tinubu Receives Adeleke At Aso Rock After Osun Victory
Sanwo-Olu further said Adeleke had publicly recognised Tinubu’s contribution to creating what he described as a level playing field during the poll.
He argued that the development was particularly important because it showed that an opposition candidate could defeat the ruling party in a South-West state without federal authorities interfering to reverse the result.
“Think about what that means. There was a time in this country when ‘federal might’ was a phrase that a ruling party used without irony,” he said.
“Under this President, the ruling party can lose a state, in the South-West, in an election year, and the sky does not fall. That is what a maturing democracy looks like.”
The governor described Tinubu as a lifelong democrat and said the President was determined to strengthen Nigeria’s democratic institutions and leave the country with a stronger system than he inherited.
“This President is a lifelong democrat, and he means to leave behind a stronger democracy than he inherited, not only for Nigerians but as an example to a continent that badly needs one,” Sanwo-Olu stated.