APC Youth Leader Names 3 Personalities Who Shaped Osun Governorship Election
- APC National Youth Leader Dayo Israel named three personalities he said shaped the result of Saturday's Osun governorship election
- Governor Adeleke won re-election with 511,067 votes, defeating APC's Bola Oyebamiji who polled 444,815 votes
- Israel warned the APC must confront structural weaknesses in youth mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections
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The National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dayo Israel, has named President Bola Tinubu, Osun Governor Ademola Adeleke, and Afrobeats star David Adeleke, known as Davido, as the three most defining personalities in Saturday's Osun State governorship election.
Source: Twitter
Israel made the remarks in a post on X on Sunday while reflecting on the outcome of the election, in which Governor Adeleke of the Accord Party secured a second term, defeating APC's Bola Oyebamiji by 511,067 votes to 444,815 across 15 candidates.
Tinubu's Restraint Praised
Israel commended President Tinubu for not using federal instruments to tilt the contest in the APC's favour, comparing his conduct to other off-cycle elections in Anambra and Bayelsa where opposition parties also retained power.
"President Tinubu may have lost Osun for the APC, but he won something larger for Nigeria: another opportunity to demonstrate that the vote of the Nigerian people must matter," Israel wrote.
He described the president's approach as statesmanship, saying it showed a commitment to democracy beyond party interest, PremiumTimes reports.
Adeleke's Grassroots Bond
Israel argued that Governor Adeleke's public persona, often mocked by political opponents, was in fact a key political tool. He said the governor's dancing, accessibility, and visible community presence built an emotional bond with ordinary voters that proved more durable than elite endorsements.
"Governor Adeleke's dancing was never a weakness. It was a political language," he wrote, adding that it "humanised him, made him accessible, and created emotional proximity with ordinary voters."
Israel cautioned the APC against confusing elite acceptance with actual voter support on the ground, noting that dominance in political discourse in Abuja does not translate to ward-level victories.
Davido's Role With Young Voters
On Davido, Israel said the singer went beyond celebrity appearances and actively mobilised young people for the governor's campaign through his music, digital reach, and personal influence.
"He brought artistes, influencers and young voices into the process," Israel wrote, contrasting this with what he described as the APC's over-reliance on a structure built around governors, senators, and former office holders.
He said the party's National Youth Wing was not meaningfully engaged in the campaign, and criticised what he called an institutional culture of sidelining the party's own structures in favour of temporary arrangements during elections.
Israel said some of the same weaknesses that cost the APC the 2022 Osun election had resurfaced, and called on the party to conduct an honest review of its mobilisation approach before the 2027 general elections.
"The Osun governorship election has been won and lost," he wrote.
"That margin is substantial enough to demand honest reflection, not excuses, blame shifting or the familiar ritual of assembling another committee whose report may never change how we campaign."
Governor Adeleke's win marked his second consecutive victory over the APC in Osun, following his first-term win in 2022 as the Peoples Democratic Party candidate over then-governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
Davido reacts as EFCC freezes Osun account
Previously, Legit.ng reported that Afrobeats superstar Davido spoke out after reports emerged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allegedly directed restrictions on an Osun State Government account reportedly used for the payment of workers' salaries.
The development became a major talking point after documents cited in reports claimed that the account had been placed on a "Post No Debit" status.
Source: Legit.ng
