Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has criticised FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over his comment on the Osun governorship election.
Wike had said that if President Bola Tinubu really wanted the APC to win Osun “at all costs,” he would have gone to the state and helped make it happen.
Dalung said the comment was wrong because politicians cannot control voters.
He recalled that Wike supported Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election while he was governor of Rivers State.
Tinubu won Rivers with 231,591 votes out of 523,651 valid votes. Peter Obi got 175,071 votes, while Atiku Abubakar polled 88,468.
Dalung said the result showed that even a sitting governor with strong political influence could not control how people voted.
“You can have political machinery. You can have money. You can have influence. But when the voter enters that little cubicle, all your machinery stays outside,” he said.
He also questioned Wike’s use of the words “at all costs,” saying such language was not good for a serving minister.
Dalung said political leaders should encourage free and fair elections instead of giving the impression that government power can determine election results.
He said the people of Osun do not need Wike’s or Tinubu’s permission to choose their governor.
“Let Wike go to Osun. Let him campaign, mobilise and persuade the people. But he must allow the voters to make the final decision,” Dalung said.
According to him, political influence is not the same as controlling the electorate.
He added that politicians who become too confident in their power often forget that voters can surprise them at the ballot box.
Dalung said democracy is not about using “federal might” to win elections.
“It is about convincing the people and allowing them to choose,” he said.