Former Osun State governor and National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Rauf Aregbesola, has cautioned the All Progressives Congress against relying on state governors to secure electoral victories, insisting that elections are ultimately decided by voters.
Aregbesola spoke on Tuesday in Abuja during the public presentation of the memoir of the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, titled The Loyalist.
He said recent election outcomes had shown clearly that control of government machinery does not automatically translate into votes.
According to him, the results of the 2023 general elections in the South West and South East regions contradicted the belief that governors could deliver electoral victories for their parties. He noted that despite the APC controlling almost all states in the South West, the party recorded a maximum performance of about 55 percent, with other parties sharing the remaining votes.
“The results from the last election do not support the idea that governors win elections,” Aregbesola said. “In the South West, the APC controlled all but one state, yet the party did not sweep the votes. Even in Lagos, the APC candidate lost his ward, local government and the state.”
He added that the situation in the South East was even more revealing, pointing out that the APC secured only about 5.8 percent of the total votes from the zone despite having a presence in government structures.
The former Minister of Interior also reacted to the wave of defections from opposition parties to the APC, particularly by sitting governors and other political office holders. In recent months, several governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party have defected to the ruling party, alongside lawmakers, former governors and party leaders.
While APC leaders have dismissed claims that the defections signal a move towards a one-party state, Aregbesola urged the ruling party to focus on guaranteeing credible elections rather than counting on political realignments.
“What we require from the government overseeing the election is a commitment to a free and fair process,” he said. “Commit to free and fair elections and let us see what the result will be. That is what Nigerians are asking for.”
