Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has praised President Bola Tinubu for allowing the will of voters to prevail in the August 15 Osun governorship election, contrasting the exercise with what he described as the use of “federal might” against him in 2018.
Fayose said Tinubu’s handling of the Osun poll showed that credible elections were possible in Nigeria.
Speaking on TVC News on Tuesday, the former governor argued that if the Federal Government had wanted to force an APC victory in Osun, it had the capacity to do so.
“If the federal government wants to take an election, they will take it,” Fayose said.
He, however, said the kind of federal pressure he experienced during the 2018 Ekiti governorship election did not play out in Osun.
Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party won the Osun election with 511,067 votes, defeating APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes.
ADC candidate Najeem Salaam finished third with 17,180 votes.
Fayose said Tinubu had been “magnanimous” in the way his administration had handled elections.
“We have to thank God for this president for showing that it is possible to have an election of our dreams,” he said.
“Tinubu appointed INEC chairman, IGP, and army chief. Don’t tell me that that combination will not take any election if they want to take it.”
The former Ekiti governor then recalled the 2018 election in his state, alleging that the Muhammadu Buhari administration deployed federal institutions against him.
“Ekiti was taken from me in 2018 by all means possible,” Fayose said.
He claimed his security details were withdrawn days before the election and that communication around the Government House was disrupted.
“All my security details were taken to the police headquarters in Ado-Ekiti. I was left with an orderly. That is when you are talking about federal might,” he said.
Fayose also alleged that former Department of State Services Director-General, Lawal Daura, played a role in the events surrounding the election.
At the time, Fayose backed his deputy, Kolapo Olusola, who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Kayode Fayemi of the APC eventually won the election with 197,459 votes, while Olusola polled 178,121 votes.
Fayose maintained that Tinubu’s conduct in Osun reflected a commitment to democratic competition.
According to him, the President’s body language suggested that he wanted Nigeria’s democracy to thrive.
