The National Secretary of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Dipo Olayoku, has told Nigerians to learn from Osun voters ahead of 2027, saying a united and determined electorate can defeat intimidation, federal pressure and vote-buying.
Olayoku spoke on Monday during a programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, monitored by DAILY POST in Abeokuta.
Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party won a second term after polling 511,067 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes.
Reviewing the August 15 election, Olayoku, argued that the result was a proof that voters who stand firm cannot be broken.
He described Osun as a state that has consistently rejected godfather politics, saying, “As a matter of fact, what it shows is that if people are united at some things, nothing can change their opinion. That’s exactly what the election shows.
“They have always been showing it in the elections that they have their own conviction, they don’t take any directive from any godfather.”
The NNPP scribe said the lesson for 2027 is clear: determination beats intimidation.
“So, it is a lesson that Nigerians should learn in 2027. People that are determined, nothing can break them, no intimidation,” he declared.
Olayoku, however, said voting alone is not enough, urging Nigerians to stay at polling and collation centres until their votes are counted and reflected in results.
Despite commending the voters, he condemned what he called the dirty tactics deployed before and during the election.
He cited allegations of intimidation, violence, vote-buying and political interference, including the freezing of an Osun State Government account by the EFCC shortly before the poll.
DAILY POST had reported that President Bola Tinubu later ordered the account unfrozen. However, Olayoku also questioned why allegations of vote-buying were not prosecuted.
“A day after the governorship election, a lady came on Facebook thanking APC for giving her fifteen thousand naira to vote for them. Nothing has happened to the lady,” he said.
He further alleged that Accord Party supporters were intimidated in the build-up to the election, adding that the APC did “everything to stop Osun people”.
Olayoku insisted that Nigerians must replicate Osun’s example in 2027 by protecting their votes from polling unit to collation.
“What people are praising is the resilience of the people of Osun. It is not the election that the people are commending, it is the resilience of the people of Osun.
“That’s the lesson from Osun election. Anything could have happened going by what APC did before the election,” he added.
Copy Osun’s resilience, nothing can stop determined voters – NNPP scribe to Nigerians