Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) would have won the recent Osun governorship election if President Bola Tinubu had deployed the influence and machinery of the Federal Government to secure victory for the party.
Wike, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said Tinubu deliberately allowed the election to proceed without federal interference, suggesting that the outcome would have been different if the president had wanted an APC victory “at all costs”.
The minister spoke on Tuesday while inspecting flood-prone areas in Maitama, Abuja.
“If the president had wanted to win the Osun state election at all costs, I would have been involved and I would have been there and the governor would have known that it would have been different,” Wike said.
The incumbent governor and Accord Party candidate, Ademola Adeleke, was declared winner of the August 15 election after securing 511,067 votes and winning in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas.
The APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, polled 444,815 votes and won the remaining 11 LGAs.
Wike said the outcome demonstrated that the Federal Government did not deploy its influence to manipulate the election in favour of the APC.
“There was no federal might used in Osun. When you see the force and might of the federal government, you will know,” he said.
The FCT minister also suggested that Adeleke could have been a member of the APC if certain political circumstances had worked out differently.
“Ordinarily, Adeleke would have been with APC if things had worked out well,” he said.
Wike, who has continued to support President Tinubu despite remaining a PDP member, also predicted that the president would face a less difficult presidential election in 2027 than he did in 2023.
“The 2027 elections will be the easiest one for the President compared to 2023,” he said.
The former Rivers State governor attributed his prediction to what he described as the weakened state of the opposition parties.
“This time around, the opposition has been crippled, homeless, no feather,” Wike added.
Wike has remained a member of the PDP while publicly supporting the Tinubu administration.
