The APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, has named President Bola Tinubu, Osun Governor Ademola Adeleke and Afrobeats star Davido as key figures who shaped Saturday’s Osun governorship election.
Adeleke of the Accord Party won a second term with 511,067 votes, defeating APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes. Thirteen other candidates also contested.
Reflecting on the result, Israel blamed the APC’s defeat partly on weak mobilisation and poor engagement with young voters.
“There are bitter truths our party must confront before the 2027 general election,” he wrote on X, saying “three personalities emerged as the defining figures of this election.”
Israel praised Tinubu for not using federal institutions or security agencies to influence the result.
“President Tinubu may have lost Osun for the APC, but he won something larger for Nigeria: another opportunity to demonstrate that the vote of the Nigerian people must matter,” he said.
He also credited Adeleke’s grassroots appeal, saying his dancing and public image helped him connect with ordinary voters.
“Governor Adeleke’s dancing was never a weakness. It was a political language,” Israel said.
He said Davido helped mobilise young voters through his influence, networks, music and digital reach.
Israel criticised the APC for relying heavily on governors, senators and former office holders while sidelining its youth wing.
He said similar problems of division, weak reconciliation and poor mobilisation contributed to the party’s 2022 loss.
Israel urged the APC to honestly review its strategy ahead of 2027, saying the Osun result should lead to action rather than excuses.
