Wike: Tinubu chose not to fight for Osun

FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has made a revealing claims about the August 15 Osun governorship election, saying President Bola Tinubu could have secured an APC victory if he had chosen to deploy the full weight of the federal government.

Wike, who remains a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said Tinubu deliberately allowed the election to proceed without federal interference.

“If the president had wanted to win the Osun state election at all costs, I would have been there and we would have won it, and there’s nothing the governor can do,” Wike said on Tuesday while inspecting flood-prone areas in Maitama, Abuja. His comments came after Ademola Adeleke, the incumbent governor and Accord candidate, was declared winner after taking 19 of the state’s 30 LGAs, while APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji won 11.

For Wike, the result was proof that the federal government chose not to deploy what he described as its political “might”. “There was no federal might used in Osun. When you see the force and might of the federal government, you will know,” he said effectively suggesting that the election outcome would have been different had that influence been brought to bear.

Wike also turned his attention to 2027, predicting a much easier contest for Tinubu than the 2023 election. “The 2027 elections will be the easiest one for the President compared to 2023,” he said, attributing the prediction to what he sees as a severely weakened opposition. “This time around, the opposition has been crippled, homeless, no feather,” Wike added.

The comments further underline Wike’s unusual political position: a PDP member serving in Tinubu’s administration and continuing to publicly back the president. But his Osun claim goes beyond political support it offers a blunt assessment of how much influence he believes the federal government can wield when it chooses to use it.