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•Bode George: Victory belongs to people • NDC faults Adeleke’s Tinubu endorsement • APC chieftain: Tinubu must reconnect with Nigerians •Vatsa: Governors, political elites can’t deliver 2027 • Accord demands release of detained members
By Chinelo Obogo, Aidoghie Paulinus, Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja and John Adams, Minna
The United Kingdom has raised concerns over vote-buying, voter interference and challenges associated with the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) during last Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State, even as it congratulated Governor Ademola Adeleke on his re-election.
The British High Commission, in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, commended the people of Osun State for their peaceful and active participation in the August 15, 2026 governorship election and said the experience should provide lessons for the 2027 general elections.
The commission said it had met with a range of stakeholders before the election and deployed accredited observers to monitor the exercise.
According to the British government, the observations of its team, together with findings from credible independent observer groups with wider deployments across the state, showed several positive developments.
“Based on their observations, and consistent with the findings of credible independent observer groups with wider deployments across the state, we welcome several encouraging signs of a positive democratic process,” the commission said.
It identified the opening of polling units as scheduled in many locations, the commitment of security personnel to maintaining order and the effective implementation of electoral procedures by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as among the positive developments recorded during the election.
The UK also commended the voters for their participation, patience and resilience throughout the exercise.
“Most of all, we were encouraged by the patience, resilience and participation demonstrated by voters throughout the day,” it said.
The commission, however, said it observed isolated incidents that generated tension before and during the election and identified voter interference, including vote-buying across party lines, as a significant challenge.
It also raised concerns about access to polling facilities for persons living with disabilities and elderly voters, as well as overcrowding arising from the speed and limited availability of BVAS devices for voter accreditation.
“We encourage the relevant institutions to review these issues carefully and to draw lessons — including from the recommendations of credible organisations like the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room — that strengthen public confidence, transparency and accountability,” the commission said.
The British High Commission said the lessons from the Osun election should be applied to subsequent elections, particularly the 2027 general elections.
It noted that off-cycle elections benefited from the availability of additional personnel and resources that might be more difficult to replicate during nationwide elections.
“As Nigeria looks ahead to the 2027 general elections, we note that off-cycle elections benefit from the availability of additional personnel and resources that may be more difficult to replicate at nationwide scale,” it said.
The commission nevertheless expressed hope that the Osun experience would contribute to improvements capable of strengthening the integrity, inclusiveness and credibility of future elections.
“The United Kingdom remains committed to working with Nigeria’s electoral institutions, civil society and other partners to support peaceful, transparent, inclusive and credible elections, and to strengthen the democratic institutions that underpin them,” it said.
•Bode George: Osun victory, people’s triumph
Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, described Adeleke’s victory as an affirmation of the power of the electorate and said the result carried lessons for the 2027 general elections.
George, the Atona Oodua of Yorubaland, congratulated Adeleke on his re-election and said the outcome demonstrated that political power ultimately belonged to the people.
He said the result should remind political leaders and institutions that electoral mandates were subject to renewal by voters.
“The right of Nigerians to freely choose their leaders must remain at the heart of our democratic process. What happened in Osun is a practical demonstration that power ultimately belongs to the people,” George said.
He said incumbency and political influence could not permanently determine electoral outcomes.
“An incumbent may have the advantages of office, but ultimately it is the electorate that determines whether that mandate should be renewed.
“If you work in the interest of the people, they have the opportunity to reward you with their votes. Where they believe otherwise, they are equally entitled to make a different choice. That is the beauty of democracy,” he said.
George urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the political environment ahead of the 2027 elections remained open to all qualified Nigerians.
“My appeal to President Bola Tinubu, as we look towards 2027, is to continue to uphold the democratic principle that every qualified Nigerian who wishes to contest should be allowed to do so in accordance with the law.
“Nigerians, through their votes, should be allowed to decide who they want to lead them,” he said.
He also urged Adeleke to regard his re-election as a renewed mandate to serve the people of Osun State.
“I congratulate Governor Adeleke and urge him to see this victory as a renewed contract with the people of Osun State.
“From now until 2030, he must work even harder, justify the confidence reposed in him and deliver greater dividends of democracy to the people,” George said.
•NDC faults Tinubu endorsement
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), however, faulted Adeleke’s reported pledge to support President Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Osa Director, described the endorsement as premature, arguing that Adeleke could not determine how the people of Osun would vote in the presidential election.
Director nevertheless described Adeleke’s victory as a triumph of the electorate.
“The victory of the Accord Party in the Osun State governorship election is a victory for democracy. It is a triumph of the people’s will over any authoritarian leadership,” he said.
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He commended Adeleke for insisting on his right to contest and allowing voters to determine his fate at the polls.
“I commend Governor Adeleke for standing firm to insist that he has the right to contest and be voted for by his people if that is their choice, and indeed, that is actually their choice,” he said.
Director, however, questioned the governor’s reported pledge to deliver Osun to Tinubu in 2027.
“I am surprised that Adeleke is promising to deliver Osun to President Bola Tinubu come 2027 presidential election. I think that is too hasty of him to say,” he said.
He argued that Adeleke could not determine the choice of Osun voters in the presidential election.
“Also, in any case, he cannot determine what the people will do. Just like Bola Tinubu, with all the federal might, could not determine what the Osun people were going to do,” he said.
“So let him just savour his victory and allow the people in Osun State to decide who they are going to vote for in the presidential election in 2027.”
The NDC spokesman also commended INEC for the conduct of the election but urged the commission to sustain what he described as the improvements recorded during the poll.
He said Nigerians would hold the electoral body to the standard established in Osun.
“I hope this is not going to be a flash in the pan on the part of INEC to make us lose our guards and think that come 2027 it will be this transparent. We are going to hold them to account to live up to this standard,” he said.
•Accord demands release of members
Meanwhile, the Accord Party has demanded the immediate release of its leaders, candidates, members and supporters allegedly arrested and detained in Osun, Abuja and Nasarawa states during the governorship election.
The National Chairman of the party, Chief Maxwell Ngbudem, made the demand in Osogbo, describing the continued detention of the party members as a violation of their fundamental rights.
“It is in the interest of justice and equity to release them immediately. The election is over, there is no need for their detention. The Inspector-General of Police is urged to act accordingly,” Ngbudem said.
He described Adeleke’s victory as evidence of the determination of Osun voters to freely choose their leaders and protect their votes.
Ngbudem alleged that the campaign and election periods were characterised by harassment, intimidation, destruction of property, arrests, detention and killings.
He also alleged that federal security and law enforcement agencies, including the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), were used against the party, the state government and its supporters.
The Accord chairman further alleged that attempts had been made to destabilise the Adeleke administration by withholding federal allocations to local governments despite court orders directing the release of the funds.
He alleged that the objective was to make the state ungovernable and create conditions for the declaration of a state of emergency.
Ngbudem said the party prepared for an election and not a war, insisting that its supporters relied on the ballot to secure victory.
The development comes amid heightened political activity and security concerns in the aftermath of the election, with authorities also monitoring disputes over the control of motor parks and local government administration across the state.
•Vatsa: Tinubu must reconnect with Nigerians
An APC chieftain in Niger State, Jonathan Vatsa, has urged President Tinubu to change the style of his administration and reconnect with Nigerians if he wants to secure victory in the 2027 presidential election.
Vatsa, a former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in Niger State, said the outcome of the Osun election showed that APC governors and political structures could not automatically deliver electoral victories.
“For the number of APC governors that gathered in Osun, and for them to come back empty handed, it is an indication that they have lost the confidence of the people,” he said.
He said the result should serve as a warning to the APC ahead of the 2027 elections.
According to him, economic hardship, unemployment and insecurity are among the issues influencing voters.
“I must say that the people of Osun State have spoken the mind of Nigerians with the way they voted during the election. Nigerians are not happy because of the hardship in the mix of excess money in the country,” he said.
Vatsa criticised the manner in which increased revenue following the removal of fuel subsidy was being handled by state governments.
“The entire fuel subsidy money is being shared to the governors who are doing little or nothing with it, and unfortunately Nigerians are putting the blame of the current hardship on the doorstep of President Tinubu,” he said.
He said voters were becoming more determined to exercise and protect their franchise.
“From the way Osun people voted and protected their votes, it’s an indication that Nigerians are ready to vote and protect their votes in 2027,” he said.
Vatsa also identified internal opposition within the APC as another factor that could affect the party in 2027.
“There are so many oppositions within the party, and this will also play out in the general elections in 2027,” he said.
He said Nigerians were increasingly looking beyond political names, party structures and endorsements.
“What the people want now is food on their table, jobs for their children, security in their communities, and visible impact from government in their daily lives,” he said.
Vatsa warned that continued reliance on political elites who had lost contact with their constituents could affect Tinubu’s re-election bid.
•Adeleke defeats Oyebamiji by 66,252 votes
INEC declared Adeleke, candidate of the Accord Party, winner of the election after he polled 511,067 votes to defeat the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes.
Adeleke won in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11, giving the incumbent governor another four-year term.
The result gives Adeleke a second consecutive term after his victory over former Governor Gboyega Oyetola in the 2022 governorship election.
Adeleke had lost the 2018 contest to Oyetola after a closely fought election before returning four years later to defeat the APC candidate.
The 2022 result subsequently went through a series of legal challenges before Adeleke’s victory was sustained.
The 2026 contest again produced a closely watched battle between the two major political camps, with Adeleke recording a 66,252-vote margin over Oyebamiji.
The election was monitored by domestic and international observers, with attention focused on voting procedures, logistics, security, voter participation and allegations of vote-buying.
The UK’s assessment has now added to the growing calls for electoral institutions and political actors to address identified weaknesses before the 2027 general elections.
