The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has disclosed that it deliberately collaborated with the Accord Party during the August 15 governorship election in Osun State to prevent the All Progressives Congress (APC) from reclaiming power in the state.
The ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the disclosure during an interview with Trust TV while assessing the outcome of the election and the performance of the opposition party.
Abdullahi explained that the ADC leadership had identified early in the electoral process that a division of opposition votes could create an opportunity for the APC to emerge victorious.
The ADC governorship candidate, Najeem Salaam, polled 17,180 votes in the election, while incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke, who contested under the Accord Party, secured 511,067 votes to defeat the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who obtained 444,815 votes.
According to Abdullahi, the ADC therefore chose political cooperation with the Accord Party rather than allow opposition votes to be fragmented in a manner that could have handed victory to the APC.
“We saw the possibility of collaboration. We saw the possibility early enough that if we decided to go full throttle, the possibility that the opposition would divide the votes and the APC would take the victory was there,” Abdullahi said.
“And that was why we saw the opportunity to work together, and that was what happened.”
The ADC spokesperson said the relatively low number of votes secured by its governorship candidate should not be interpreted as a failure because the party’s broader political objective was achieved with the defeat of the APC.
“That is why we can confidently celebrate what is going on in Osun, because for us, victory means that APC was defeated,” he said.
“So we don’t see the fact that our governorship candidate did not emerge as an occasion of defeat or failure. The failure, the defeat of the APC, was a real victory for us.”
When asked whether the ADC had specifically directed its members and supporters to vote for Adeleke, Abdullahi said the party’s approach was based on its cooperation with the Accord Party.
“We cooperated with the Accord party,” he said, stressing that the decision was deliberate and supported by the leadership of the ADC.
He said the outcome of the Osun election had demonstrated the potential strength of opposition cooperation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to him, opposition parties could defeat the ruling APC if they were prepared to set aside individual political ambitions and work together.
“It’s something that was deliberate, and we are glad that the outcome has justified the confidence that everyone has put in the process, and it has proved that the opposition working together can actually defeat this incumbent, no matter how awesome they are,” Abdullahi said.
However, the ADC spokesperson rejected the suggestion that the party should take credit for Adeleke’s victory.
He said the people of Osun State deserved the credit for the outcome, while acknowledging Adeleke’s ability to secure another term despite the political circumstances surrounding the election.
“When I say that we are not taking credit, we are saying that the credit belongs to the people of Osun state,” Abdullahi said.
“The victory belongs to Ademola Adeleke, who, in spite of all odds, still managed to emerge as the governor of Osun state.”
The disclosure has further highlighted the emerging strategy among opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections, with the ADC signalling that strategic alliances and vote consolidation could become central to efforts to challenge the APC’s political dominance.