Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has commended President Bola Tinubu for refraining from deploying federal power to influence the outcome of the Saturday, August 15 Osun governorship election, drawing a sharp contrast with his own experience during the 2018 Ekiti election where he alleged security forces physically assaulted him and restricted his movement.
Fayose made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview on TVC News, responding to comments by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who had claimed he could have delivered the Osun election to the All Progressives Congress had Tinubu wanted victory "at all costs."
Fayose Details Federal Interference in 2018 Ekiti Election
Fayose said the closeness of the Osun result showed the election could have gone in a different direction. Incumbent Osun Governor and Accord party candidate Ademola Adeleke won the election with 511,067 votes, beating APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes. African Democratic Congress candidate Najeem Salaam finished third with 17,180 votes. Adeleke carried 19 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won the remaining 11.
Fayose argued that any federal administration determined to swing a governorship election has the tools to do so, pointing to his own experience in 2018 as proof. "Let me give you an instance. Ekiti was taken from me in 2018. By all means possible. Those features did not play out in Ede," he said.
He described how, three days before that election, he lost all communication at the government house and his security details were withdrawn and sent to police headquarters in Ado Ekiti. Fayose also alleged that security personnel stopped him from leading a march with over 60,000 supporters, and that he was struck with the butt of a gun when he tried to force his way out. "An inspector told me, governor my foot. And they prevented me from coming out of the government house," Fayose said, adding that the injury required four medical procedures.
Fayose Praises Tinubu's Approach and Addresses Appointment Speculation
Despite the contrast he drew with his own past, Fayose was direct in his praise for Tinubu, saying the President's conduct showed that credible elections were achievable in Nigeria. "He is showing us that it is possible to have an election of our dream in this country," he said.
He acknowledged that Tinubu's appointees control key institutions including the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army, but argued that the President's body language had discouraged those institutions from acting as tools of political manipulation.
Fayose also addressed his recent appointment as chairman of the Rural Electrification Agency board, dismissing speculation that he was on his way to joining the APC. He said his relationship with Tinubu predated current politics, dating back to when both men served as governors in 2003, and that his support for certain aspects of the administration was about national development, not party loyalty. "Yes, we're in different parties," he said, adding that his appointment was "a call to serve."
Wike Declares 2027 Presidential Election Over
Meanwhile, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike declared that the 2027 presidential election will be the easiest contest President Bola Tinubu has ever faced, saying the opposition lacks the structure, unity, and time needed to unseat an incumbent. Wike made the remarks on Tuesday, August 18, in Abuja while reacting to the outcome of last Saturday's Osun State governorship election, which the opposition won. Rather than treating the result as a warning sign for the ruling party, the minister used it to draw a sharp distinction between local and national electoral dynamics.
