APC’s overconfidence, reliance on federal power cost us Osun, says Farouk

By Musa Baba Adamu

The defeat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Osun State governorship election has been attributed partly to overconfidence within the party, with APC chieftain Farouk Aliyu admitting that some party members underestimated Governor Ademola Adeleke and his political structure.
Aliyu said the party’s poor assessment of the governor’s strength was compounded by the belief among some APC supporters that the Federal Government would somehow guarantee victory for the ruling party at the polls.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Monday, monitored in Abuja, the APC chieftain said some party members became complacent because they assumed that federal influence would automatically translate into electoral victory.
According to him, the mindset resulted in the APC failing to do the necessary groundwork in some areas, as members took Adeleke and his supporters for granted.
“Yes, there were sentiments, and members of our party, I think, also had an overkill. Some thought that probably the federal government would come and just drive everybody and write the results,” Aliyu said.
He acknowledged that the assumption proved costly, stressing that the APC entered some parts of the election believing that victory was already assured.
“Our members and supporters took Adeleke for granted, and the members of his party, his movement, in such a way that what we ordinarily ought to do in certain places, we didn’t do, thinking that, look, what is it? I will win the election. We can even do whatever to win the election. Well, that didn’t happen,” he stated.
Aliyu’s comments amount to a significant admission from within the ruling party that political structures and proximity to federal power cannot automatically substitute for grassroots mobilisation and voter support.
The APC chieftain also criticised comments attributed to Senator Francis Fadahunsi during the election period, particularly remarks interpreted as a threat against opposition supporters.
Although Aliyu acknowledged that Fadahunsi spoke in Yoruba, he said he did not understand the language sufficiently to interpret the entire statement, but condemned the reported use of the word “kill.”
“I think what he did was very wrong, for coming out to say ‘kill’,” Aliyu said.
The APC’s defeat in Osun has intensified debate within the party over the factors responsible for its failure to reclaim the state.
The result has also raised questions about the effectiveness of the party’s campaign strategy and its reliance on prominent political figures and federal influence to secure electoral victories.
For Aliyu, however, the central lesson is that the APC misread the political strength of Adeleke and his supporters.
Rather than treating the incumbent governor as an easy opponent, he suggested that the party should have recognized the strength of his grassroots organisation and worked harder in areas where it ultimately fell short.
The development comes as political parties begin recalibrating their strategies ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the Osun outcome potentially serving as an early warning that electoral contests may be determined more by voter mobilization and local political realities than by the weight of federal power.
Peoples Daily reports that the APC lost the Osun governorship election to the Accord Party, with Governor Ademola Adeleke emerging victorious at the poll.