Human rights activist and former Senator, Shehu Sani, has said some opposition figures are unhappy with Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, for appreciating President Bola Tinubu after his victory in the governorship election.
Sani made the observation in a post on X on Monday, days after Adeleke was declared winner of the August 15 governorship poll.
Adeleke, while delivering his victory speech on Sunday, thanked Tinubu for what he described as the President’s support for a free and fair election in Osun. He also reaffirmed his support for Tinubu’s bid for a second term in 2027.
Reacting, Sani said some opposition members expected Adeleke to take a more confrontational approach towards the President.
“Most members of the opposition are not happy with Governor Adeleke for ‘thanking’ President Tinubu for his electoral victory. They want the Governor to be confrontational,” Sani said.
The former lawmaker suggested that Adeleke’s appreciation was understandable if Tinubu played a role in ensuring that his electoral mandate was protected.
“If the President had not been helpful in securing his mandate and preventing any attempt to tamper with it, the Governor wouldn’t have been so appreciative,” he said.
Sani also stressed that electoral victory does not end with voting, noting that the collation and final declaration of results are equally important stages of the process.
“Electoral victory is a product of two components; winning the votes and securing the collation and victory of the vote,” he said.
He noted that there have been instances where politicians performed strongly at polling units but ultimately lost because they were unable to secure the outcome during the collation stage.
According to Sani, Adeleke’s decision to acknowledge Tinubu should therefore be viewed in the context of the governor’s belief that the President helped protect the electoral process and his mandate.
Source: Shehu Sani’s post on X.
