Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not sulk or interfere after the All Progressives Congress, APC, lost the Osun State governorship election to Governor Ademola Adeleke.
In a post shared on X by the Senior Special Assistant on New Media to the Lagos State Governor, Jubril Gawat, Sanwo-Olu was quoted as making the remarks on Thursday at the Freedom Online 7th Annual Lecture, where he used the outcome of the Osun election to highlight what he described as the growth of democracy under the Tinubu administration.
According to the governor, the people of Osun State elected their governor on August 15, with Adeleke, the candidate of a different political party, winning by more than 60,000 votes.
Sanwo-Olu said the APC candidate in the election, whom he described as the candidate of his party and the President’s party, lost the contest.
He said Tinubu accepted the outcome of the election and contacted Adeleke the following day to congratulate him.
Sanwo-Olu said the President also urged the newly elected governor to unite the state and thanked the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and security agencies for what he described as a peaceful and transparent election.
He added that Adeleke had publicly thanked Tinubu for ensuring a level playing field during the election.
“About 19-20 days ago, on the 15th of August, the people of Osun State elected a governor. The candidate of my party, the President’s party, lost. The incumbent, Governor Ademola Adeleke @AAdeleke_01, of a different party, won by more than sixty thousand votes.
“The President did not sulk and he did not equivocate. He picked up the telephone the following day, congratulated the winner, urged him to unite the State, and thanked INEC and the security agencies for a peaceful and transparent election.
“Governor Adeleke has since publicly thanked the President for ensuring a level playing field,” Sanwo-Olu said.
Reflecting on the significance of the development, Sanwo-Olu recalled a period when the expression “federal might” was openly associated with the influence of a ruling party in elections.
The governor said the outcome showed that a ruling party could lose a state in the South-West during an election year without the democratic system collapsing.
Sanwo-Olu described this as an indication of a maturing democracy and said Tinubu was committed to leaving behind a stronger democratic system than the one he inherited.
He also said the President’s commitment to democracy was intended not only to benefit Nigerians but also to serve as an example to other African countries.
“Think about what that means. There was a time in this country when ‘federal might’ was a phrase that a ruling party used without irony.
“Under this President, the ruling party can lose a state, in the South-West, in an election year, and the sky does not fall. That is what a maturing democracy looks like.
“This President is a lifelong democrat, and he means to leave behind a stronger democracy than he inherited, not only for Nigerians but as an example to a continent that badly needs one,” he added.
Tinubu didn’t sulk, interfere after APC lost Osun governorship election — Sanwo-Olu