Wednesday, August 19, 2026 - The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said he could have helped President Bola Tinubu secure victory for the All Progressives Congress in the August 15 governorship election in Osun State if the President had wanted to win the poll “at all costs.”
Wike, who remains a member of the People’s Democratic Party,
said Tinubu deliberately allowed the election to take place without deploying
the influence of the Federal Government to sway the outcome in favour of the
APC.
The FCT minister spoke on Tuesday while inspecting
flood-prone areas in Maitama, Abuja.
He said he would have supported the President if he had
decided to use his political influence to ensure an APC victory.
“If the President had wanted to win the Osun State election
at all costs, I would have been there, and we would have won it, and there’s
nothing the governor can do,” Wike said.
Governor Ademola Adeleke, who contested the election on the
platform of the Accord, was declared the winner after securing victory in 19 of
the 30 local government areas in the state.
Adeleke of the Accord won the election with 511,067 votes,
defeating his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the APC, who secured
444,815 votes and Najeem Salaam of the ADC, who polled 17,180 votes.
Wike, speaking on the outcome of the election, said it
demonstrated that the Federal Government did not deploy its influence to
manipulate the election in favour of the ruling party.
“There was no federal might used in Osun. When you see the
force and might of the Federal Government, you will know,” he said.
The minister also suggested that Adeleke could have been a
member of the APC if certain political circumstances had turned out
differently.
“Ordinarily, Adeleke would have been with the APC if things
had worked out well,” he said.
Wike, a former Rivers State governor who has continued to
support Tinubu despite his membership of the opposition PDP, also predicted
that the President would face a less difficult contest in the 2027 presidential
election.
“The 2027 elections will be the easier one for the President
compared to 2023,” he said.
He attributed his prediction to what he described as the
weakened state of the opposition parties.
“This time around, the opposition has been crippled,
homeless, no feather,” Wike added.
Watch the video of Wike speaking:
If President TINUBU wanted to win Osun election at all costs I would have been involved and Gov’ ADELEKE knows he would have gone home – WIKE (WATCH) pic.twitter.com/EPYh3zga8m
— DAILY POST 🇳🇬 (@dailypost_ng) August 19, 2026
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