FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has claimed that President Bola Tinubu could have secured victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the August 15 Osun governorship election if he had deployed the full force of the Federal Government.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said he would have personally supported Tinubu to ensure an APC victory if that was the president’s intention.
Speaking on Tuesday while inspecting flood-prone areas in Maitama, Abuja, the minister said there was no interference by the Federal Government in the election.
“If the president had wanted to win the Osun state election at all costs, I would have been there and we would have won it, and there’s nothing the governor can do,” Wike said.
The incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, who contested on the platform of the Accord Party, was declared winner after polling 19 of the 30 local government areas, while the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, won 11.
Wike said the outcome was evidence that the Federal Government allowed the election to run without deploying its influence 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 an APC member under different circumstances.
“Ordinarily, Adeleke would have been with APC if things had worked out well,” he said.
On the 2027 presidential election, Wike predicted an easier contest for Tinubu than the president faced in 2023, attributing it to the weakened opposition.
“The 2027 elections will be the easiest one for the President compared to 2023,” he said.
“This time around, the opposition has been crippled, homeless, no feather,” Wike added.
