The deputy national financial secretary of the African Democratic Congress, (ADC), Oladimeji Fabiyi, has said the people made the outcome of the Osun State governorship election possible, rather than the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Speaking on ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Fabiyi said the election had set a template for the 2027 general elections, while expressing reservations about INEC Chairman’s ability to maintain the standard witnessed in Osun, as he assessed political readiness ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Fabiyi also expressed reservations about the ability of the INEC Chairman to maintain the standard witnessed during the Osun election ahead of the 2027 polls.
“On the part of INEC, a lot of people are applauding them. Yes, I do too, but I still have my reservations about the Chairman of INEC. I cannot really trust him for now, until after the 2027 election, if he is able to repeat what we witnessed in Osun.
“I still can’t trust him. There’s this saying that he who pays the piper dictates the tune. At the end of the day, until after 2027 and if he is able to stand his ground… In any case, what happened in Osun was not really because the INEC Chairman or INEC as an institution was ready to do what was right, but the people made it so,” he said.
Fabiyi also said the outcome of the Osun State governorship election had set a template for the 2027 general elections.
“The Osun Gubernatorial election has set a template for 2027, and nobody should shy away from saying it as it is. Two critical factors make all of these things happen: the people and INEC that conducted the election. The template has been set,” he stressed.
Fabiyi said the conduct of the Osun election demonstrated the power of voter participation, urging Nigerians to actively participate in the 2027 elections to address what he described as existing electoral anomalies. He added that the ADC was already intensifying its preparations, with the party’s leadership working to mobilise voters ahead of the polls.
“The people stood their ground, the people went for what they wanted. Osun people, historically, this is who they are. This one again, this is what they have done again despite the federal influence and everything. They know that the current president is from their zone, they defied him and still voted to re-elect their governor. This has set a template for the entire country. The country is not in good shape at the moment, but Nigerians need to own this election. They must participate. Everybody must actively participate in elections so that we can correct a lot of these anomalies,” he urged.
“For my party, we are organizing. We know what is at stake, the leadership knows what is at stake, and we are working day and night to ensure that we get the people. Our strategies are different from the noise-making of other parties and all that,” he added.
On its strategy ahead of the 2027 elections, Fabiyi said the ADC was focusing on grassroots engagement by making voters understand that the election was ultimately about their interests and welfare. He added that the party would soon unveil its presidential candidate’s policy document and continue to present its plans on security, the economy and transportation.
“We are dealing with the people, because these are the people that have the power to make all the changes, because nothing can stop millions of us. We are engaging these people. We are making them realize that look, this is about you. It’s not about who we present as president, it’s about you people. So you have to own it. These are the things we want to do for you, and this is how we are going to do it.
“In the next couple of days, the policy document of our presidential candidate will be out. The party will continue to talk about its manifesto. We’ve talked about security, how we’re going to solve it. We’ve talked about economy, even transportation to ease the pain of our people. They are all coming up now,” he disclosed.
On allegations of vote buying, Fabiyi criticised the use of money to influence voters, claiming that poverty had been weaponised by the government to secure electoral support. He argued that voters could collect inducements offered to them but still exercise their right to vote according to their conscience.
“This government has weaponised poverty to the point that if they don’t spend, they want to use the money to get what they wanted. For APC, they can’t. They know they can’t win without rigging. And now, the people have redefined it and said no, you can’t even allow it because they are owning this election by themselves. Now, people collected the money and still didn’t vote for them. That is where I’m going. So you people have the right to collect the money and do what is right,” he argued.
Responding to questions about the ADC’s political strategy and its failure to secure Governor Ademola Adeleke’s defection, Fabiyi said the party had held serious engagements but the discussions did not yield the desired outcome. He maintained that the ADC was focused on its own strategy and would unveil its approach to winning Nigerians’ support when the campaign begins.
“Politics is likely about interest, and I tell you that there were engagements—serious engagements about what you just mentioned—but it just didn’t work. We did what we needed to do. We did the reaching out, we did engagement, but it couldn’t have been us because we knew what it means. It’s about him thinking he could get it elsewhere. Why didn’t he join ADC? All his colleagues went to APC, why didn’t he join APC? What made him not join APC was what made him not join ADC.
“Like I said, our strategies are different from what everybody, the normal noise-making, is doing. You will see when the campaign starts. You’ll see some of the things we’re putting in place to get the buy-in of Nigerians. It’s not always easy, but we’ll achieve it,” he assured.
Addressing concerns about the ADC’s performance in recent election in Osun state, Fabiyi rejected the suggestion that the party was merely a spectator in Osun, saying it faced both the state and federal ruling forces during the election. He said the ADC was ready for the 2027 challenge, adding that voters’ decisions would be shaped by factors including performance, zoning, religion, ethnicity and economic conditions.
“I disagree on that. Let me tell you this fact. Number one, ADC went into that election fighting two major forces: the ruling government in the state, which is an accord party, and we have the APC from the federal government. We faced these forces that ordinarily, if we had a sane political environment, it wouldn’t have been like that. Everybody would have been free to do what they wanted.
“Let me tell you what is going to happen in 2027. Voters will vote on so many variables. There are people who are going to vote because of zoning, there are people who will vote because of religion, there are people who will vote because of ethnicity, especially people in urban centers who will say no, we don’t like how the middle class is fading. A lot of these factors will determine it. So for me, I think we are ready. ADC is ready for this challenge because we know what is at stake. It’s not about us, it’s about the Nigerian people, and we keep telling them: partner with us. You are going to have something different from what you’ve been having in the last 20 years,” he promised.
On the question of accepting the 2027 election outcome, Fabiyi said the ADC would accept the result if the process was free, fair and credible, noting that he had previously lost an election without challenging the outcome because he believed it was fair.
He also dismissed zoning as a constitutional requirement, describing it as a political arrangement and arguing that the focus should instead be on what a candidate can deliver for Nigerians.
“As long as the process is credible, it’s fair… See, I’ve contested elections before and I lost, but I didn’t complain because I knew I lost very fairly. We’re not animals in this country. The moment you lose and know that you lost fairly, you won’t even challenge it. So for me, we will accept if the election was free, fair, and credible,” he maintained.
“Zoning is not the problem of Nigeria, people should just forget about that thing, because it’s a political arrangement; it’s not a constitutional institution. We need to make this clear. Does it override the provisions of the Constitution? We have the Constitution. The issue of rotation, as far as I’m concerned, is just a political gimmick to satisfy selfish interests. It’s not constitutional. It’s a political arrangement. What is important is what the person is coming to do. Does a Muslim-Muslim ticket put food on anybody’s table? Christian-Christian ticket, can it put food on anybody’s table?”, he quizzed.
On the ADC’s readiness for the official campaign, Fabiyi said the party was “very prepared” and pointed to its presidential candidate’s record of producing policy documents ahead of previous elections.
“We are prepared. Very prepared, very much prepared. In this country, if there’s anybody who has shown to Nigerians consistently all the time he has said he’s going to run for presidency, and has produced this working document provided for the people, it is the candidate of the ADC. And he will not shy away from doing it. In 2011 he did it, 2015 he did it, 2023 he did it.”
He also predicted that President Bola Tinubu would not participate in a presidential debate ahead of the 2027 election.
“And let me tell you this, and quote me today: there’s going to be a call for—and I know Sunrise is very huge on that, and I always appreciate you for that because you even did it in Osun—a call for a presidential debate. Mr. President will not attend. He will not. If Mr. President should attend, I will look for 100 poor people and empower them. Take me on this. He ran away from it before, he’s going to run again. It’s even worse now,” he predicted.
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