Osun Poll: Rufai Accuses Wike Of Misleading Nigerians Over APC Defeat

Arise Television anchor, Oseni Rufai, has criticised Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his comments on the outcome of the Osun State governorship election.

Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Rufai accused Wike of “gaslighting” Nigerians by suggesting that the federal government did not use its political influence and resources to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election.

Wike had said the APC would have won the election if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had deployed the “full weight of federal power” in Osun State.

Rufai disagreed, saying the claim did not match the level of political activity and resources reportedly deployed by APC-aligned politicians during the election.

According to him, the federal government and its allies made significant efforts to help the APC win, but the people of Osun rejected the pressure and voted for their preferred candidate.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, winner after he secured 511,067 votes, defeating the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes.

Adeleke won in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11, giving Adeleke a winning margin of 66,252 votes.

Rufai said the result showed that political influence and government resources could not automatically determine the outcome of an election.

He argued that the Osun election demonstrated the power of voters to reject political pressure and choose their preferred candidate.

Rufai therefore urged Wike and other political leaders to accept the result instead of suggesting that the election would have produced a different outcome if more federal power had been deployed.