Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has declared that Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, retained his seat because President Bola Tinubu allowed the governorship election to proceed freely without deploying federal power to tilt the contest in favour of the All Progressives Congress.
Wike said Adeleke’s victory should therefore be seen as evidence that the Federal Government allowed the electorate to determine the outcome of the August 15 poll.
Speaking on Tuesday during an inspection of flood-affected areas in the Federal Capital Territory, the former Rivers State governor dismissed allegations that federal influence had been deployed to manipulate the election.
According to Wike, Tinubu’s decision to congratulate Adeleke after his victory further demonstrated the President’s acceptance of the electoral outcome.
“The President called him… congratulating him. What does it tell you? If Tinubu did not allow a free and fair election, would they have won? No!” Wike said.
The minister also rejected claims surrounding the deployment of “federal might” during the election, drawing on his own experience in previous political contests.
“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,” he said.
Wike’s comments came amid growing political debate over the significance of the Osun result and what it could mean for the battle for power in the 2027 general elections.
Several opposition figures have presented Adeleke’s victory as proof that incumbency and federal influence can be overcome when opposition forces mobilise effectively.
Wike, however, cautioned against drawing a straight line between the outcome of an off-cycle governorship election and the approaching presidential contest.
He argued that state elections are driven by local political realities and should not automatically be treated as a forecast of how Nigerians would vote in a presidential election.
Adeleke, candidate of the Accord Party, defeated APC governorship candidate Bola Oyebamiji after polling 511,067 votes.
Oyebamiji secured 444,815 votes, leaving a margin of 66,252 votes between the two leading candidates.
Adeleke also won 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while the APC candidate carried 11.
The result has since triggered sharply contrasting interpretations from political actors, with opposition leaders describing it as a warning to the ruling party ahead of 2027, while APC figures have continued to review the outcome.
Wike’s intervention places him firmly on the side of those arguing that the Osun result was not evidence of the collapse of federal political influence but rather proof that the Tinubu administration did not interfere with the electorate’s choice.
The FCT minister also used the inspection tour to address recent flooding across parts of Abuja, warning against turning the environmental challenge into a political weapon.
He said authorities must examine both natural and human causes of flooding rather than using the incidents solely to criticise the government.
According to him, residents and public officials have responsibilities in keeping drainage systems clear, while buildings erected on natural waterways have worsened flooding in some locations.
Wike particularly rejected suggestions that low-income residents were principally responsible for major structural encroachments, saying many buildings obstructing water channels belonged to wealthy Nigerians and had been standing long before the present administration.
But with political attention increasingly shifting towards 2027, Wike’s defence of the Osun election carries a broader message: in his view, Adeleke’s victory was possible not because federal power had been defeated, but because the President chose not to deploy it against the democratic will of Osun voters.
