2027: Only Oyo Voters Can Decide Major Candidates, Adedapo Tells Adegoke

The governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Oyo State, Adebiyi Adedapo, has rejected insinuations that some parties and candidates are “major” in the forthcoming governorship election, describing a claim by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Adegboyega Taofeek Adegoke, as careless and premature.

Adedapo said only the electorate could determine which parties and candidates were major in the 2027 election, warning against attempts by any self-acclaimed “major candidate” to intimidate other contestants.

He was reacting to Adegoke’s statement on Arise Television, where the ADC candidate described himself as the “beautiful bride” among candidates of the three parties he identified as major.

Adegoke had said, “Out of the three popular candidates of the three major parties, the APM, APC and ADC, I’m the beautiful bride, not tainted with any godfather, but God Almighty is my father.”

But Adedapo, in a statement, rejected the claim, saying no candidate had the authority to declare himself or his party major in the Oyo governorship contest.

“Only the electorate will determine the major parties and major candidates in this election. No candidate has the authority to declare himself major or use such a declaration to bully other contestants,” he said.

The NNPP candidate described Adegoke’s comment as an attempt to intimidate other candidates and artificially narrow a contest in which all legally recognised political parties and duly nominated candidates were entitled to seek the people’s votes.

“There are no major or minor political parties in the eyes of the law. There are only political parties and candidates seeking the support of the people. The voters, not Mr Adegoke, will decide who is major, who is credible and who is capable of winning,” Adedapo added.

Adedapo also warned Adegoke against attempting to bully other candidates while relying on a contentious party ticket whose legitimacy is still being challenged in court.

The controversy surrounding the ADC governorship ticket has produced rival claims within the party, with aggrieved members insisting that the process that produced Adegoke remains disputed.

Some ADC members have also alleged that Adegoke joined the party only about two weeks before its governorship primary and subsequently obtained the ticket through a process they described as the “hijacking” of another aspirant’s mandate.

Adedapo stressed that the allegation remained subject to judicial determination, adding that a candidate whose ticket was embroiled in a serious legal controversy should focus on defending the process that produced him.

“A candidate whose ticket is the subject of a serious legal controversy should be busy defending the process that produced him, rather than attempting to intimidate other candidates by claiming that he belongs to a category of major candidates,” he said.

“The election is still ahead. No candidate has won anything. Popularity cannot be declared by fiat, and victory cannot be secured through media pronouncements. The people of Oyo State will make the final decision at the ballot box,” he said.

The NNPP candidate urged Adegoke to stop presenting the contest as a three-way race and to respect the presence of other parties and candidates.

He said leadership was not established by self-proclamation but earned through credibility, competence and service.

“Leadership is not established by calling oneself the best, the most popular or the beautiful bride. It is earned through credibility, competence and service, and it is ultimately confirmed by the people,” Adedapo said.

He maintained that no candidate could bully his way into political prominence by describing himself as major or reducing the governorship contest to three parties.

“Only the electorate can determine who is major. Until the votes are cast and counted, every claim of political supremacy remains a claim, not a mandate,” he said.