Governors don’t win elections, people do, Aregbesola tells APC

Aregbesola, who defected from the APC to the ADC last year, called on the ruling party to guarantee a credible process ahead of the 2027 elections.

Former Osun State Governor and National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has cautioned the All Progressives Congress (APC) against relying on governors to secure electoral victories, insisting that elections are ultimately decided by voters.

Aregbesola spoke on Tuesday in Abuja during the public presentation of The Loyalist, a memoir by ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi.

He said results from the 2023 general elections showed that control of state governments did not automatically translate to electoral success.

His comments came amid a wave of defections to the APC, including Kano State Governor Yusuf Abba, who moved from the New Nigeria Peoples Party on Monday.

Several governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have also defected in recent months.

They include Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, Peter Mbah of Enugu, Douye Diri of Bayelsa, Agbu Kefas of Taraba, Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State.

Beyond the governors, members of the National Assembly, state lawmakers, former governors, ex-ministers and other party leaders have also left the PDP for the APC.

President Bola Tinubu and other APC leaders have dismissed claims that the defections point to a drift toward a one-party state, maintaining that the ruling party remains open and inclusive.

Responding to the trend, Aregbesola, who defected from the APC to the ADC last year, called on the ruling party to guarantee a credible process ahead of the 2027 elections.

“I still want to say something more. Something is going on that is worrisome, especially for those of us who are democrats or aspire to be general democrats.

“The fact that certain governors are defecting to the APC shows that our unity (ADC leaders) is weakened.

“I laugh because recent statistics in Nigeria, based on the last election, do not support this belief.

“In the past, to quit the government and the federal social, let them commit to a free and fair electoral process. We will then see if it is true.

“The second point is a scenario where I want to use results from two zones—just two zones—to show that when a party controls a state, it may not necessarily translate to votes.

“I want to use the results from the Southwest and Southeast. In the Southwest, the APC controlled all but one state.

“Despite this, the party’s maximum performance in that election was 55%, with the other parties sharing the rest.

“The same applied in Lagos. The APC candidate lost his ward, local government, and state. So please, for goodness’ sake, where is it claimed that governors win elections against the people’s will? That is the Southwest.

“In the Southeast, the result is even more striking.

“The APC had only 5.8% of the total vote from that zone. I’ll stop at that. The results of these two zones clearly show that governors do not win elections—the people do.

“What we require from the government overseeing the election is a commitment to a free and fair process.

“So first, commit yourself to a free and fair election, and let us see what the result will be. That’s what we’re asking.”