Osun Election: You can’t deploy power inside ballot booth, ADC tells APC
By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA – The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has congratulated Governor Ademola Adeleke on his victory in Saturday’s Osun State governorship election, saying the result exposed the limits of the political machinery deployed by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to win the state.
According to the ADC, the victory was bigger than Adeleke, adding that it showed that voters could still defeat a powerful political machine when they overcame fear, stood by their choice and worked together to defend their votes.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, on Sunday, the party congratulated Adeleke and the people of Osun, while demanding an explanation from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over the reported interruption in the uploading of results to its Result Viewing Portal, IReV.
The ADC said the APC deployed more than 30 governors, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, hundreds of federal and state legislators and other senior officials to Osun in an effort to secure victory for President Bola Tinubu’s party.
“The people of Osun have shown Nigerians that no political machine is greater than a determined electorate,” Abdullahi said.
The party alleged that the heavy security deployment, coupled with what it described as violence, arrests and intimidation, failed to discourage voters and instead strengthened their determination to participate.
It said the result demonstrated that Nigerians could change governments peacefully through the ballot box, adding that opposition cooperation, election monitors and observers also contributed to the outcome.
However, the ADC raised questions over the handling of results on IReV, alleging that uploads were halted at about 8pm when it became apparent that the APC was losing.
It said the interruption lasted nearly four hours and demanded that INEC explain what happened.
“INEC must tell Nigerians precisely what happened,” the party said.
The ADC further alleged that there were grounds to suspect an attempt to tamper with the results or render the election inconclusive, while acknowledging that the claim required an explanation from INEC.
It warned that the development should not be overlooked ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that the Osun result had exposed the limits of governmental power at the ballot.
“No deployment is large enough to defeat a people who have lost their fear,” the ADC said.
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