Osun Election: We Collaborated With Accord to Stop APC – ADC

The African Democratic Congress has said its decision to work with the Accord Party during the August 15 Osun State governorship election was aimed at preventing the All Progressives Congress from returning to power in the state.

The ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, disclosed this on Monday while discussing the party’s performance in the election on Trust TV.

The election was won by the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, who contested under the Accord Party and secured 511,067 votes. The APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, finished second with 444,815 votes, while the ADC candidate, Najeem Salaam, recorded 17,180 votes.

Abdullahi explained that the ADC had identified the possibility of opposition votes being split among several candidates before the election. According to him, such a situation could have allowed the APC to benefit from the division and regain control of the state.

He said the party therefore chose to work with Accord as part of a planned strategy to prevent the opposition vote from being weakened.

The ADC spokesman said the party’s decision was not based solely on the expectation that its candidate would win the governorship. Instead, he said, the broader objective was to ensure that the APC did not emerge victorious.

Abdullahi argued that the ADC should not consider its candidate’s relatively low number of votes as a failure because the party achieved what it set out to accomplish through its collaboration with Accord.

He said the result provided an example of how opposition parties could work together to challenge the APC in future elections, including the 2027 presidential contest.

The ADC official said the Osun election showed that an incumbent government could be defeated when opposition parties avoid splitting their support and cooperate around a common objective.

He also clarified that the ADC’s strategy was not simply a directive to its supporters to vote for Adeleke. Rather, he described the relationship with Accord as a deliberate arrangement reached by the leadership of both parties.

Abdullahi said the outcome of the election had strengthened the party’s belief that opposition groups could compete effectively against the APC if they were willing to put aside individual interests and develop common strategies.

He added that the ADC would not claim that it alone delivered victory to Adeleke. According to him, the people of Osun State deserved the credit for deciding the outcome of the election.

He said Adeleke also deserved recognition for securing another term despite the political challenges surrounding the contest.

The ADC’s position comes as opposition parties continue to explore possible alliances ahead of the 2027 general elections, with cooperation and vote consolidation emerging as major issues in efforts to challenge the APC at the national level.