Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Farouk Aliyu, has attributed the party’s defeat in the Osun State governorship election to internal wrangling and complacency among its members.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Monday, Aliyu said the party failed to address internal disagreements over its candidate, adding that some members did not support the party’s candidate because of their grievances.
“So this, to me, APC defeated itself on Osun state,” Aliyu said.
He said the APC needed to review its approach to selecting candidates, particularly by considering candidates with stronger support among party members.
“So in terms of choice of candidates, probably that’s what we have to look at to make sure that probably the person who has the largest followership amongst our party members is good for election,” he said.
Aliyu also said some APC members and supporters became complacent because they expected the federal government to help secure victory for the party.
“But, you know, members of our party, I think, also had an overkill. Some, I mean, downtrodden thought that probably federal government will come and just drive everybody and write the results,” he said.
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“And in such a way that what we ordinarily ought to do in certain places, we didn’t do. Thinking that, look, what is it? And we’ll win the election. We can even do whatever to win the election. That didn’t happen.”
The APC chieftain said the election should serve as a warning to the party not to take voters for granted.
“So, but it’s a wake-up call for us. That, look, Nigerians and also INEC. I honestly commend INEC,” Aliyu said.
He added: “To us in APC, in government now, need to wake up. And understand, look, what has happened in Osun, we should not take people for granted.”
Aliyu also said the performance of the incumbent governor contributed to his re-election, stressing that APC governors needed to focus on delivering for their people.
“And also, above all, the incumbency factor played a great role in Osun state. The sitting governor, he did very well for his people, according to what the members of public in Osun state are saying. That he did well, so that also contributed to him being re-elected.”
He said the lesson extended beyond Osun State to APC-controlled states and the federal government.
“Which means, as a whole, in states where APC is, you know, at the helm of affairs now, they had better wake up. The people, the governors need to do things in such a way that people will stand by them, vote for them, by extension vote of our party.”
Aliyu also accepted responsibility for the party’s defeat, saying the loss should not be blamed solely on APC members in Osun.
“I mean, I also take responsibility because it’s all of us that have lost the election,” he said.
“It’s not about just the Osun APC members. If we had won, all members of APC would have been jubilated. So the loss is ours.”
He said the party would need to correct its approach to governance before the 2027 elections.
“In such a way that, look, we need for this time, the remaining time, we need to correct certain things in the way we govern the country or the states,” Aliyu said.
“We will continue to do what we think is right to ensure that people agree with us and give us another opportunity when the time comes.”
