Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has seized on Governor Ademola Adeleke’s decisive re-election in Osun State to deliver a blunt political message to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC): the 2027 battle may already be taking shape.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, said Adeleke’s victory was more than a state-level electoral triumph, describing it as a warning signal ahead of the 2027 general elections and evidence of what he called growing rejection of the APC by Nigerian voters.
In a statement issued by his media office on Sunday, Atiku congratulated Adeleke and the people of Osun for what he described as a demonstration of electoral courage in the face of alleged intimidation and other attempts to undermine the democratic process.
According to him, the result showed that voters could still assert their will when they turned out in large numbers and defended their ballots.
“Nigerians have roundly rejected the APC. The election in Osun State is just a telling indication that the APC will be defeated in the general election in January 2027. Indeed, it is a forerunner of the 2027 General Elections,” Atiku said.
His interpretation of the result places Osun at the centre of the emerging 2027 political narrative, as opposition parties seek to turn Adeleke’s victory into a broader referendum on the performance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
Atiku specifically praised Adeleke for mobilising voters to withstand what he described as state-sponsored intimidation, saying the governor had helped demonstrate that the electorate could resist efforts to influence the outcome of an election.
“The outcome of last Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Osun State is an expression of the wishes of the people, which has earned Governor Adeleke his re-election,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to draw a wider lesson from the poll, particularly the importance of voter mobilisation and ballot protection ahead of the 2027 elections.
“The lesson from the election is that the voters in Osun State have set a good example of how we must come out in large numbers in the general elections next year,” Atiku said.
He added that a determined electorate remained the strongest defence against rigging, vote-buying and other electoral irregularities.
The former vice president also called on Adeleke to treat his re-election as a fresh mandate to improve governance and raise the standard of living in Osun State.
“While we congratulate Governor Adeleke for his victory at the polls, I wish to urge him to continue with the process of good governance that has earned him the affection of the people and to make Osun State a shining success that the country will be proud of. One good term is indeed deserving of another,” he said.
Adeleke’s victory has consequently injected fresh momentum into the political calculations ahead of 2027, with opposition forces portraying the result as a warning to the APC, while supporters of the ruling party maintain that a governorship election in one state cannot be treated as a direct referendum on a presidential election.
For Atiku and the ADC, however, Osun has become more than an electoral scorecard. It is being presented as a test of whether an organised electorate, opposition coalition and effective grassroots mobilisation can overcome the advantages of incumbency when Nigerians return to the polls in 2027.