Osun Poll Exposes APC’s Weakness Ahead of 2027 — SDP

•Gombe: Nigerians ready for rescue mission, opposition must unite

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has described the outcome of the Osun State governorship election as a major lesson for Nigeria’s political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

SDP National Chairman, Prof. Sadiq Gombe, who spoke at a news conference on the election, said the development had demonstrated that Nigerians were ready to reject political dominance and vote according to their convictions.

Gombe, however, lamented that SDP was unable to fully participate in the election due to prolonged legal issues surrounding the party’s candidate.

According to him, the party only obtained a certified true copy of the court judgment recognising its candidate shortly before the election, leaving little time to mobilise party agents and supporters across the state.

He recalled that a similar situation occurred during another governorship election, where SDP’s candidate was uploaded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) only a few hours before the poll.

The SDP chairman said the experience had exposed weaknesses that political parties and electoral institutions must address before 2027.

Gombe said one of the biggest lessons from Osun was that there was no longer any political party that could be regarded as unbeatable.

He noted that the electorate could abandon established political structures when they were convinced that another candidate represented their interests.

“Whether you like SDP or not, whether you believe in what we are professing towards the rescue mission of our country or not, today, as it stands, SDP presents the best of candidates in Nigeria towards 2027,” he said.

He listed competence, capacity, character, knowledge of Nigeria and the ability to unite the country among the qualities he said would guide the party’s choice of candidates.

The SDP leader also commended INEC for what he described as a professional conduct of the Osun election, urging the commission to sustain the credibility of the process ahead of 2027.

He said the confidence Nigerians had in the electoral process would increase if INEC continued to protect the people’s votes and resist political pressure.

Gombe also raised concerns over the massive deployment of security personnel and electoral officials during the Osun election, saying the scale of deployment would be difficult to replicate across the country during the 2027 general elections.

He urged INEC and security agencies to begin preparations early and develop strategies capable of ensuring credible elections nationwide.

The SDP chairman further criticised the movement of governors, ministers, lawmakers and other political heavyweights into Osun during the election, saying the practice could undermine the independence of local elections.

He called on security agencies to enforce electoral laws and restrict election-day movements to accredited officials, observers and other authorised personnel.

Gombe urged opposition political parties to learn from Osun and work towards a genuine coalition ahead of 2027.

He said any alliance should be based on national interest rather than personal ambition, stressing that competence, capacity, character and knowledge of the country must be the determining factors.

He also urged Nigerians to emulate the people of Osun by defending their votes and participating actively in elections.

“If the people of Osun can come out and stand up to defend their mandate, then the people of Zamfara, Katsina, Borno, Yobe, Sokoto and other states can do much more,” he said.

Gombe declared that the SDP remained committed to what he described as the “rescue mission” to save Nigeria from bad governance.

He called on the media and civil society organisations to intensify voter education and public enlightenment to reduce electoral malpractice and encourage citizens to protect their franchise.

The SDP chairman said the lessons from Osun should serve as a wake-up call to political parties, INEC, security agencies and Nigerians as the country prepares for the 2027 general elections.