Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said the victory of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke in the August 15 governorship election was made possible by what he described as President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to a free and fair electoral process.
Speaking on Tuesday during an inspection of flood-affected areas in the Federal Capital Territory, Wike rejected allegations that the Federal Government interfered in the conduct of the election.
According to him, the outcome of the poll showed that the opposition was not prevented from winning.
“The President called him… congratulating him (Adeleke). What does it tell you? If Tinubu did not allow a free and fair election, would they have won? No!” Wike said.
The minister also dismissed claims that federal influence was deployed to determine the result, citing his own political experience.
“When you say force of the federal government… ask those who have survived it, though—people like me who survived federal might. It’s not by saying ‘they say, they say.’ It’s not true,” he said.
Wike further cautioned against using the outcome of an off-cycle governorship election to predict the result of a future presidential election, stressing that both contests involve different political dynamics.
His remarks followed Adeleke’s victory over the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, in the Osun governorship poll.
Official results showed that Adeleke secured 511,067 votes against Oyebamiji’s 444,815 votes, winning by a margin of 66,252 votes.
The governor also carried 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11.
Addressing flooding in parts of the FCT, Wike urged residents and public officials to focus on practical solutions rather than politicising the issue.
He said many of the structures obstructing waterways and drainage channels were built by affluent Nigerians and had existed long before the current administration, adding that tackling flooding required cooperation from both government and residents.
