The national secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rauf Aregbesola, has said the outcome of the 2023 presidential election in Lagos demonstrated that control of state governments does not automatically translate to electoral victory.
Aregbesola made the remarks on Tuesday in Abuja during the public presentation of The Loyalist, a book authored by Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC’s national publicity secretary.
According to him, the results recorded in the south-west and south-east during the 2023 general election challenged the long-held notion that governors can impose election outcomes against the wishes of voters.
His comments come against the backdrop of ongoing defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC) by several governors elected under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Those who have defected include Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, Peter Mbah of Enugu, Douye Diri of Bayelsa, Agbu Kefas of Taraba, Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau.
In addition, a number of national assembly members, state legislators, former governors, ex-ministers and other party leaders have also moved from the PDP to the APC.
APC leaders, including President Bola Tinubu, have dismissed suggestions that the wave of defections signals a move towards a one-party state.
Responding to the situation, Aregbesola—who defected from the APC to the ADC last year—called on the ruling party to guarantee that the 2027 elections are free, fair and credible.
“Something is going on that is worrisome, especially for those of us who are democrats or aspire to be democrats,” Aregbesola said.
“The fact that certain governors are defecting to the APC shows that our unity is weakened.
“I laugh because recent statistics in Nigeria, based on the last election, do not support this belief.”
The former governor of Osun State noted that the APC controlled all south-west states except one during the election period.
“Despite this, the maximum performance of the party in that election was 55 percent, with the other parties sharing the rest,” he said.
He added that a similar trend was evident in Lagos, while the south-east outcome was even more revealing.
“The APC candidate (Tinubu) lost his ward, local government and state,” he said.
“So please, for goodness’ sake, when it is claimed that governors win elections against the people’s will — where?
“The APC had only 5.8 percent of the total vote from that (south-east) zone.
“The results of these two zones clearly show that governors do not win elections — the people do.”
Aregbesola stressed that what is required from electoral authorities is a firm commitment to transparency and fairness.
“So first, commit yourself to a free and fair election, and let us see what the result will be,” he added.