Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s response to the outcome of the Osun State governorship election, saying the President accepted the defeat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate without interfering with the process.
Sanwo-Olu said Tinubu’s reaction to the election, which was won by incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of another political party, demonstrated what he described as the growing maturity of Nigeria’s democracy under the current administration.
The Lagos governor made the remarks on Thursday at the Freedom Online 7th Annual Lecture, where he used the Osun election as an example of what he considers a significant development in the country’s democratic experience.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the people of Osun State exercised their constitutional right to choose their governor on August 15, with Adeleke securing victory by more than 60,000 votes. The APC candidate, despite belonging to the President’s party, lost the contest.
Sanwo-Olu said the result did not trigger any attempt by Tinubu to undermine the outcome or influence the process after the election. Instead, he said the President contacted Adeleke the following day to congratulate him on his victory.
The governor said Tinubu also encouraged the newly elected governor to bring the people of Osun together and commended the electoral and security institutions for their roles in conducting what he described as a peaceful and transparent election.
“About 19-20 days ago, on the 15th of August, the people of Osun State elected a governor. The candidate of my party, the President’s party, lost. The incumbent, Governor Ademola Adeleke @AAdeleke_01, of a different party, won by more than sixty thousand votes,” Sanwo-Olu said.
“The President did not sulk and he did not equivocate. He picked up the telephone the following day, congratulated the winner, urged him to unite the State, and thanked INEC and the security agencies for a peaceful and transparent election.”
Sanwo-Olu further said Adeleke had subsequently acknowledged Tinubu’s role in what he described as a level playing field during the election.
“Governor Adeleke has since publicly thanked the President for ensuring a level playing field,” he added.
For Sanwo-Olu, the significance of the Osun result goes beyond the defeat of one political party. He argued that the manner in which the result was handled provided an opportunity to assess how Nigeria’s democratic institutions and political culture are evolving.
The governor recalled that there was a period when the expression “federal might” was commonly associated with the influence of the Federal Government and the ruling party during elections. He suggested that the Osun outcome offered a contrast to that perception.
He pointed to the fact that a ruling party could lose a state in the South-West during an election year without the electoral process resulting in a wider political crisis.
“Think about what that means. There was a time in this country when ‘federal might’ was a phrase that a ruling party used without irony,” Sanwo-Olu said.
“Under this President, the ruling party can lose a state, in the South-West, in an election year, and the sky does not fall. That is what a maturing democracy looks like.”
The Lagos governor presented the development as evidence that electoral competition could take place even when the party in control of the Federal Government was contesting to retain political influence in a state.
His comments also placed emphasis on the conduct of the President after the election rather than simply on the result itself. According to Sanwo-Olu, accepting the outcome and congratulating the victor demonstrated a willingness to allow the electoral process to stand.
He described Tinubu as a “lifelong democrat” and said the President’s stated ambition was to leave Nigeria with a stronger democratic system than the one he inherited.
“This President is a lifelong democrat, and he means to leave behind a stronger democracy than he inherited, not only for Nigerians but as an example to a continent that badly needs one,” Sanwo-Olu said.
The governor’s argument was that democratic maturity should be measured not only by the ability of citizens to vote but also by how political leaders respond when electoral results do not favour them.
In that context, Sanwo-Olu regarded the Osun election as an important example. The APC candidate lost despite the party being the ruling political platform at the federal level, while Adeleke, who belongs to another party, emerged victorious.
According to Sanwo-Olu, Tinubu’s decision to congratulate Adeleke and urge him to unite the state demonstrated that political competition did not necessarily have to translate into hostility after the votes had been counted.
He also credited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for what he described as their contribution to a peaceful and transparent election.
The governor’s remarks came as part of a broader reflection on the state of democracy in Nigeria and the responsibility of political leaders to strengthen democratic institutions.
By highlighting the Osun result, Sanwo-Olu argued that an election can produce a result contrary to the interests of the governing party without triggering a breakdown of the democratic order.
He said this represented a departure from an era when the influence of the central government and the ruling party was widely discussed in electoral contests using the phrase “federal might.”
For Sanwo-Olu, the ability of the opposition to defeat the ruling party in a South-West state during an election year, followed by the President’s acceptance of the result, is a development worth recognising in the country’s democratic journey.
He maintained that the example should not be viewed only through the lens of party politics, but as part of the larger question of whether Nigeria is building stronger institutions capable of supporting credible political competition.
The governor ultimately linked the Osun experience to what he described as Tinubu’s broader democratic legacy. He said the President’s ambition should be to strengthen Nigeria’s democratic foundations while providing an example for other African countries facing similar challenges.
Sanwo-Olu’s remarks therefore framed the Osun election not merely as an electoral defeat for the APC, but as an illustration of what he believes a maturing democratic system should look like: voters make their choice, the result is accepted, and political leaders move forward without allowing party defeat to destabilise the democratic process.
Tinubu Didn’t Sulk or Interfere After APC Lost Osun Election, Sanwo-Olu Says
