Adeleke would have won APC primary if he joined the party — Olawumi

By Taiwo Scholarstica

The Director of Strategic Communications of the Imole Campaign Council, Jamiu Babatunde Olawumi, has said Governor Ademola Adeleke could have won the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in Osun State if he had successfully joined the party.

Olawumi made the assertion during a live appearance on TVC’s This Morning programme on Monday while reacting to Adeleke’s earlier attempt to join the APC and the governor’s eventual victory under the Accord Party.

Adeleke had previously been linked with moves to join the ruling APC, with Olawumi suggesting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was initially interested in having the Osun governor in the party.

According to Olawumi, Adeleke’s popularity among the people of Osun would have made him a strong contender regardless of the platform on which he contested.

“There was a time His Excellency Yola-Mishri was on his sister television, where he accused people who wanted him to come; he made mention of Governor Dapo Abiodun and others. That was when we knew the President is interested, was interested in Adeleke,” he said.

Olawumi maintained that Adeleke’s popularity was not limited to his political party, arguing that his relationship with the electorate played a major role in his eventual victory.

He said, “Governor Adeleke would have won in the APC primaries because of the reward system in his government. In Osun APC, there was no reward system that could challenge the reward system being run by Adeleke.”

He further argued that Adeleke’s political strength was demonstrated by the large support he received during the election, despite contesting on the platform of the relatively smaller Accord Party.

“If somebody like that is desirable to any right-thinking person to be in their party, which the President did, but he was frustrated from doing,” Olawumi said.

He also linked the governor’s victory to what he described as his administration’s ability to connect with the people, particularly on issues affecting their daily lives.

Olawumi acknowledged that some of the reforms had produced benefits, while stressing that more needed to be done at the local level.

He said, “Even with the reforms, there is no state in Nigeria that is not meeting its revenue targets because of certain policies of the President.”

APC chieftain and political affairs analyst, Chief Jerry Chukwueke, also said Adeleke’s victory should serve as a lesson to politicians that belonging to a particular political party does not automatically guarantee electoral success.

Chukwueke said, “You don’t have to be a member of the APC or an APC governor to win an election in your state. What you need is to do the business of the people.”