ADC Admits Working With Accord to Defeat APC in Osun

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has admitted that it worked with the Accord Party during the August 15 Osun State governorship election to prevent the All Progressives Congress (APC) from returning to power in the state.

The National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, disclosed this on Monday while reacting to the party’s performance in the election.

The ADC governorship candidate, Najeem Salaam, polled 17,180 votes, while the Accord candidate and incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, secured 511,067 votes to defeat the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes.

Abdullahi said the ADC had anticipated that a division of opposition votes could hand victory to the APC, prompting the party to seek cooperation with Accord.

“We saw the possibility of collaboration. We saw the possibility earlier 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,” he said.

He said the decision to work with Accord was deliberate and had the backing of the ADC leadership.

“And that was why we saw the opportunity to work together, and that was what happened,” Abdullahi said.

According to him, the ADC did not consider its candidate’s performance a failure because its larger political objective was to ensure that the APC did not reclaim the state.

“That is why we can confidently celebrate what is going on in Osun, because for us, victory means that APC was defeated,” he said.

He argued that the ADC’s failure to produce the governor-elect should therefore not be interpreted as a defeat for the party.

“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,” he said.

Asked whether the ADC had specifically directed its supporters to vote for Adeleke, Abdullahi said the party’s position was based on its cooperation with the Accord Party.

“We cooperated with the Accord party,” he said.

The ADC spokesman said the outcome of the election had wider implications for the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections, arguing that political parties opposed to the APC could replicate the Osun strategy at the national level.

He said the Osun experience demonstrated that opposition parties could defeat the ruling party if they were prepared to 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.

He, however, dismissed any attempt to credit the ADC alone for Adeleke’s victory, saying the electorate remained the decisive force behind the result.

“When I say that we are not taking credit, we are saying that the credit belongs to the people of Osun State,” Abdullahi said.

He added that Adeleke deserved recognition for securing victory despite the challenges surrounding the contest.

“The victory belongs to Ademola Adeleke, who, in spite of all odds, still managed to emerge as the governor of Osun State,” he said.

The result has since become a reference point in discussions about opposition cooperation ahead of the 2027 elections, with the ADC using the Osun experience to argue that strategic alliances could prevent the splitting of opposition votes and improve the chances of defeating the APC.