The All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and other prominent leaders of the ruling party who travelled to Osun State to rally support for the party’s governorship candidate, Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji, have left the state disappointed as unofficial results pointed to victory for incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke.
A source in the APC delegation informed THE WHISTLER that Yilwatda and other party leaders departed Osun late Saturday after concluding that Oyebamiji had fallen short in the governorship election.
“Our team has left Osun tonight with the chairman and some other dignitaries. Others would leave in the morning tomorrow,” the source said.
THE WHISTLER also gathered that disappointment within the party has prompted calls by some APC members for the chairman of the party’s national campaign council, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, and other members of the campaign leadership not to be assigned key roles in President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 campaign organisation.
According to the party source, the outcome of the Osun election has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the Uzodimma-led campaign structure.
Yilwatda had earlier declared the Osun governorship poll a “must-win” contest for the APC.
At the inauguration of the party’s national campaign council, the APC chairman had described the election as a dress rehearsal for the 2027 general election and vowed that the ruling party would deploy its governors, ministers, federal lawmakers, local government officials and other political structures from across the country to secure victory.
“We must win Osun and nothing will stop us,” Yilwatda declared at the time.
He also unveiled an extensive grassroots mobilisation plan for APC leaders to carry out a house-to-house campaign across the state.
On July 26, the APC constituted the 276-member national campaign council and subcommittees for the election, with Uzodimma as chairman.
Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas were appointed co-chairmen, while Senior Special Assistant to the President on Political and Other Matters, Ibrahim Kabir Masari, served as deputy chairman.
Hon. Wole Oke was named Director-General of the campaign.
The campaign reached its climax on Thursday when Akpabio, Yilwatda, Uzodimma, Abbas, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and several other APC governors and leaders stormed Osogbo for the party’s mega rally.
Representing President Tinubu at the rally, Akpabio assured voters of adequate security and urged them to support the APC candidate.
He argued that Osun should align politically with the Federal Government.
Yilwatda also repeatedly expressed confidence that the APC would emerge victorious, saying the party possessed the political experience, organisational structure and nationwide support required to reclaim Osun.
However, unofficial results from election observers showed Governor Adeleke of the Accord Party maintaining a clear lead.
As of the latest collated figures from 3,590 of the state’s 3,763 polling units, Adeleke had secured 508,143 votes, representing 52.32 per cent of the votes counted.
Oyebamiji, his closest challenger, had polled 434,334 votes.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has yet to declare the official result as of the time of filing this report.
As of 1:33:03 am on Sunday, the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) shows that 3,607 out of 3,763 results had been uploaded.
This represents 95.85% of the total results.
(The Whistler)
