Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has rejected claims that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) collaborated with him to secure victory in the August 15 governorship election.
Adeleke, through his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, on Tuesday described comments by ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, suggesting that the party worked to facilitate his re-election as false.
Abdullahi had told Trust TV that the ADC deliberately cooperated with the Accord Party during the election to prevent the All Progressives Congress (APC) from reclaiming Osun State.
He explained that the party feared that splitting opposition votes by aggressively pursuing its own candidate could give the APC an advantage, prompting it to work with Accord.
However, Adeleke insisted that the ADC was never part of the political alliance that supported his re-election.
“I commend political partners who went all out to make Saturday a victory day for all Osun people. But we must clarify for the sake of history that ADC was never part of the alliance,” the governor said.
Abdullahi had also maintained that the ADC did not consider its candidate, Najeem Salaam’s 17,180 votes, a failure, stressing that the party’s primary objective was to defeat the APC.
Asked whether the ADC directed its supporters to vote for Adeleke, Abdullahi said, “We cooperated with the Accord party.”
He nevertheless acknowledged Adeleke’s role in the outcome, saying the victory belonged to the governor, who “in spite of all odds” emerged victorious.
Following his re-election, Adeleke adopted a conciliatory tone, declaring that his administration would serve all residents of the state regardless of their political affiliation.
“Now that the election is over, I am a governor of all Osun people irrespective of political groups, religion or race,” he said.