ADC joined forces with Accord to stop APC in Osun, Abdullahi

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says it teamed up with the Accord Party during the August 15 Osun State governorship election. Their goal was to stop the All Progressives Congress (APC) from taking back power in the state.

Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, shared this on Trust TV on Monday. He spoke about how the party performed in the election.

The ADC’s governorship candidate, Najeem Salaam, got 17,180 votes. Meanwhile, the current Governor, Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, won with 511,067 votes. He beat his closest rival, Bola Oyebamiji of the APC, who got 444,815 votes.

When asked why the party did not perform as expected, Abdullahi said they knew that opposition votes could be split. This situation might have helped the APC gain an advantage.

This concern led them to collaborate with the Accord Party. Abdullahi explained, “We saw the possibility of collaboration. We saw the possibility earlier on that if we decided to go full throttle, the possibility that the opposition would divide the votes and APC would take the victory was there.

“And that was why we saw the opportunity to work together. And that was what happened.”

He stated that the ADC does not view its candidate's performance as a failure. Their main aim was to stop the APC from regaining power in the state.

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

“So we don’t see the fact that our governor did not emerge as an indication of defeat or failure. For us, the failure, the defeat of the APC, was a real victory for us,” he said.

When asked if the ADC told its supporters to vote for Adeleke, Abdullahi responded, “We co-operated with the Accord Party.”

He added that this decision was intentional and had the support of the ADC leadership. Abdullahi also mentioned that this event showed that opposition parties could beat 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.

But he clarified that the ADC would not take all the credit for Adeleke’s victory. He said the people of Osun deserve the recognition.

“But I’m saying 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. And in spite of all odds, he still managed to emerge as the governor of Osun State.”

Abdullahi also rejected claims that the ADC’s poor performance came from resentment towards its national secretary and former Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola.

“That is not true. That is not true. Anybody saying that is not being charitable, because the entire leadership of the party was in Osun in the days leading to the election.

“And we saw the kind of overwhelming support that Rauf Aregbesola still controlled in Osun State,” he said.

He called the claims about Aregbesola’s treatment of civil servants while in office “oppositionality.” He said Aregbesola remains popular in the state.

Abdullahi confirmed that the ADC’s choice to work with Accord was intentional and not out of resentment or revenge against any political figure.

“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.