ADC collaborated with Accord to defeat APC in Osun, says Bolaji Abdullahi

Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says the party collaborated with the Accord Party to prevent the All Progressives Congress (APC) from winning the August 15 Osun governorship election.

Abdullahi spoke on Trust TV on Monday while discussing the ADC’s performance in the election.

The ADC’s candidate, Najeem Salaam, polled 17,180 votes, while Ademola Adeleke, the incumbent governor and Accord candidate, won with 511,067 votes.

Bola Oyebamiji, the APC candidate, finished second with 444,815 votes.

‘Defeating APC was our victory’

Abdullahi said the ADC had anticipated that votes from opposition parties could be divided, potentially giving the APC an advantage.

He said the party therefore decided to work with Accord to prevent such a scenario.

“We saw the possibility of collaboration. We saw the possibility earlier enough that if we decided to go full throttle, the possibility that the opposition would divide the votes and the APC would take the victory was there,” he said.

According to him, the ADC did not consider its candidate’s performance a failure because its main objective was to stop the APC from returning to power in Osun.

“That is why we can confidently celebrate what is going on in Osun, because for us, victory means that APC was defeated,” he said.

“We don’t see the fact that our governorship candidate did not emerge as an occasion of defeat or failure. The failure, the defeat of the APC, was a real victory for us.”

Asked whether the ADC directed its supporters to vote for Adeleke, Abdullahi said, “We cooperated with the Accord party.”

He added that the decision was backed by the leadership of the ADC.

‘Opposition can defeat APC if united’

Abdullahi said the ADC’s cooperation with Accord demonstrated that opposition parties could defeat the ruling APC in the 2027 presidential election if they worked together.

“It’s something that was deliberate, and we are glad that the outcome has justified the confidence that everyone has put in the process, and it has proved that the opposition working together can actually defeat this incumbent, no matter how awesome they are,” he said.

He, however, said the ADC was not seeking to take sole credit for Adeleke’s victory.

“When I say that we are not taking credit, we are saying that the credit belongs to the people of Osun State,” Abdullahi said.

“The victory belongs to Ademola Adeleke, who, in spite of all odds, still managed to emerge as the governor of Osun State.”