‘Under Tinubu, The Ruling Party Can Lose’ – Sanwo-Olu

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has asserted that the outcome of the Osun governorship election showed the ruling party could lose an election under President Bola Tinubu.

Naija News reports that Sanwo-Olu spoke on Thursday in Lagos while discussing Nigeria’s democracy and preparations for the 2027 elections.

Recall that the incumbent Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, of the Accord Party, defeated Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by more than 60,000 votes.

Tinubu subsequently met with Adeleke behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa in Abuja days after the election and congratulated him.

He described his re-election as a fitting assurance that democracy would continue to flourish under his administration and urged Adeleke to unite the state.

Citing the Osun election, Sanwo-Olu said it was evidence of Tinubu’s commitment to democratic principles.

According to Sanwo-Olu, the development differed from previous periods, when opposition parties often faced significant challenges from federal might.

He said: “There was a time in this country when ‘federal might’ was a phrase that a ruling party used without irony.

“Under this President, the ruling party can lose a state in the South-West in an election year, and the sky does not fall. That is what a maturing democracy looks like.

“This President is a lifelong democrat, and he means to leave behind a stronger democracy than he inherited, not only for Nigerians but as an example to a continent that badly needs one.”