The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said Governor Ademola Adeleke of Accord Party won the recent Osun State governorship election because President Bola Tinubu allowed the poll to be free and fair.
Wike made the declaration while speaking during an inspection tour of flood-affected areas in the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday.
Reacting to the August 15 Osun governorship election, Wike dismissed claims that the Federal Government manipulated the poll, arguing that Tinubu allowed the democratic process to take its course.
He said the outcome of the election demonstrated that the Federal Government did not deploy its influence to undermine the opposition.
Wike said, “The President called him… congratulating him (Adeleke). What does it tell you? If Tinubu did not allow a free and fair election, would they have won? No!”
The minister also pushed back against claims of federal might being used to influence elections, drawing from his experience of previous electoral contests.
He said, “When you say force of the federal government… ask those who have survived it, though—people like me who survived federal might. It’s not by saying ‘they say, they say.’ It’s not true.”
