The national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Barrister Felix Morka, has condemned the violence witnessed in Osun State ahead of the gubernatorial election, calling for those responsible for perpetrating or inciting violence to be brought to justice.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, Morka said the party does not encourage or participate in violence, stressing that the APC is confident in its record and believes voters should support it based on its performance.
“The events unfolding in Osun—the level of violence—is disturbing on so many levels. People have no business getting killed or injured just because they try to participate in an election called by the country in their state. So, it’s really condemnable that anyone would perpetrate violence or encourage it. We at the APC totally condemn all of the acts of violence that we’ve witnessed in Osun in the lead-up to this election.
“We hope that those who are responsible for maintaining law and order—the police and other agencies—will do their job by really bringing everybody who has participated, incited, or in some ways been involved in those acts to justice. We, as a party, don’t participate in violence because we’re confident about our case, which we are making—or have made—to the people of Osun, as we make to people elsewhere when it comes to elections, to vote for us on the basis of our record and performance,” he said.
On the controversial remarks attributed to Senator Francis Fadahunsi, Morka said the senator had offered his own explanation, but stressed that it was for the police to establish the context of the statement and determine whether it amounted to any unlawful conduct.
“He is now laying out for himself what he meant to say. But I don’t think it’s for any of us—yourself, myself, or even the party—to be second-guessing what was said or wasn’t said. That is the job of the police. I understand he’s been invited to explain his comments, so I think we must wait for the police to do their job, properly put his statement in context, and decide whether or not there’s anything illegal or unlawful about his comments to warrant further action,” Morka said.
Shifting responsibility to Governor Ademola Adeleke, Morka argued that as the state’s governor and Chief Security Officer, he bears the greater responsibility for creating a peaceful atmosphere ahead of the election. He also alleged that Adeleke had not done enough to rein in his supporters, whom he claimed were also involved in the violence.
“Governor Adeleke is the governor of the state. As we say in political parlance, he is the Chief Security Officer of the state. The events unfolding are not unfolding in all of Nigeria. It’s happening in Osun State, where Adeleke is the governor and the Chief Security Officer. He is also a candidate in this election. So, actually, the greater responsibility falls on him to create the atmosphere for the election.
“The governor is a candidate in this election, contesting for re-election. He has his supporters who are running amok in the streets as well. Now, I haven’t seen Governor Adeleke seriously reining in his supporters—from his party and those who support him—who are also participants in violence,” he argued.
Morka maintained that the violence was not one-sided, saying he could not conclusively blame the APC or its supporters without having all the evidence. He called on all political parties and their supporters to shun violence, conduct themselves with civility and allow their records and messages to speak for them.
“My point is, Adeleke has not justified his power as governor in terms of reining in his supporters in violence, because the violence is not one-sided. I don’t sit here to say APC and its supporters have not, because I don’t have all the evidence and information to make that determination. So I leave it that maybe these things happen on both sides.
“Every participant—not just the APC, but all other parties participating and their supporters—must conduct themselves with civility, eschew violence, and allow their messages and messaging to speak for them. Their records should speak for them,” he stressed.
Speaking on President Bola Tinubu’s role in the Osun election, Morka said the President’s priority was to respect the will of the electorate rather than place the APC above the people’s democratic choice.
“Everyone who knows the President knows that the President is about respecting the will of the electorate. The President is about the people and their choice—their freedom to choose those who govern them. The President is not about elevating the party above the democratic choice of the people, whether in Osun State, in the country, or elsewhere. It’s never been about that.”
Morka also defended the President’s intervention in the EFCC matter, saying the agency was performing its duties but that the timing of its action was politically sensitive. He explained that Tinubu’s directive was only to suspend the process temporarily until after the election, without undermining the EFCC’s investigative powers or independence.
“The point we’re making about federal institutions: federal institutions do their job. The EFCC didn’t set out to interfere in the election; they were simply doing their job. As the President admonished, they were doing their job, but the timing was somewhat sensitive.
“The President has oversight responsibility on the EFCC. Making a process directive, as he did, didn’t touch the substance of the EFCC’s authority or independence to investigate cases. He simply said to suspend it temporarily when you have two competing public policy objectives. Sometimes the President has the discretion and prerogative to decide which trumps which, because both were right,” he maintained.
Assessing the APC’s chances in the Osun election, Morka described Governor Ademola Adeleke’s performance as “very dismal,” citing the health and education sectors as areas where the governor had failed to deliver. He expressed confidence that APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji would defeat Adeleke, pointing to recent endorsements from institutions and key stakeholders as evidence of support for his candidacy.
“Governor Adeleke’s record has been very lackluster. Governor Adeleke has been very dismal in his performance as governor. Pick one sector: is it the health sector that’s in shambles, or is it the education sector? So I think Governor Adeleke is utterly defeatable because he has not done well, and that is obvious in Osun. Look at even just the last few weeks—the number of institutions and key stakeholders who have endorsed Oyebamiji, the APC candidate for this election. I think the results will come out, and on Saturday, they will give their verdict,” he said.
Expecting a credible exercise, Morka said the Osun election should be free and fair, expressing confidence in INEC’s commitment to carrying out its statutory responsibilities. He also urged voters to turn out and exercise their right to choose their preferred candidate despite reports of violence.
“I expect it to be free and fair, and I expect it to be credible. INEC is determined to do its job as appointed by law. The people of Osun, I believe, irrespective of the reports of violence we’re hearing, will go out there and make their choice because it’s their state.”
Reacting to Adeleke’s campaign materials featuring President Tinubu, Morka said voters were sophisticated enough to distinguish personal support for the President from presidential endorsement of Adeleke’s re-election bid.
“The people in Osun and the voters everywhere in this country are smarter than we sometimes portray them. They are smart people. They understand the politics; they know what’s going on. Every election, as they say, is local. The man or woman in Osun State who is eligible to vote is going to go to the poll and vote based on their assessment of the governor who has had nearly four years to govern, and decide who they give the mandate to govern over the next four years. I think we must give the people credit that they are able to make that determination.”
On the opposition’s proposed coalition ahead of the 2027 election, Morka dismissed the threat, saying the parties involved had yet to present Nigerians with a clear alternative to the APC. He argued that their campaign had largely focused on removing President Tinubu and the APC from power rather than articulating a vision or programme for the country.
“We’ve seen that conversation; we’ve seen it unravel. So nobody is losing any sleep. When you really look at it, this is about, ‘We don’t want the President; we don’t want the APC. Remove the President; remove the APC.’ It’s not about what they are offering to Nigerians as an alternative replacement for the APC or the President. None of these political parties have articulated a vision or a mission that Nigerians can actually take home and sleep on,” he argued.
Defending the APC administration’s economic record, the APC national publicity secretary rejected claims that poverty was worsening, insisting that Nigeria’s macroeconomic indicators were improving and would eventually translate into better living conditions.
He said the economic challenges predated the current government and described the reforms under President Tinubu as difficult measures aimed at addressing problems that had accumulated over decades.
“This is the fallacy of the discourse that we often engage in in the name of political conversation. The World Bank, the Bureau of Statistics, all of the rating agencies in this world are united in their opinion that Nigeria and Nigeria’s economy is doing better today than it has done. Macroeconomics is what begets your micro realities.
“If you look at the entire history of this country for a long time, our economy had it coming, and it unraveled as it did over a period of time. It wasn’t an event; it was a program that was generational, as I said.
“The point I’m making is that when this President has taken steps which no other president before him had the political will to take—to begin to tackle problems that were sitting there festering over decades, and today we’re seeing the results. So I think that we can’t just make this conclusion that poverty is getting worse. No, it’s not, because you must take into account all of the economic calculations that happen.
“We must acknowledge that this President has done a lot right. Yes, by gestation, all of the fullness of the results that is intended on the micro level may not be here with us already, but you know what? My point is that we are trending almost irreversibly in that direction, and that’s good enough,” Morka concluded.
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