Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has explained why he stayed in Osogbo throughout the August 15 Osun State governorship election, saying he wanted to understand how the election would go by speaking directly with residents and observing the mood across the state.
Fayose disclosed this during an interview with TVC News, where he also shared his assessment of the election and its outcome.
Explaining why he was in Osogbo, Fayose said he wanted to gain more experience and hear directly from ordinary people ahead of the election.
He said, “Well, let me say I was in Osogbo throughout the election.”
Fayose added, “I was in Osogbo. One, because, um, you gain more experience when you are part of a system.”
He explained that his visits to different communities helped him understand the views of voters before the election.
Fayose said, “I was in Osogbo firstly to have an information about how that election was going to go with the ordinary folks. I was in a number of market communities. I was in Ilesa. I was in a couple of communities, and I listened to them. So I knew, very clearly, that the outcome, ordinarily, may not be far from what it is.”
Asked whether he already knew that Governor Ademola Adeleke would win the election, Fayose said the contest was too close to predict.
He said, “Well, the outcome may not be far from what it is. When you have an election that is 52, 48, it could go either way.”
He explained that a wider margin would make the likely winner easier to predict, saying, “If you have an election that is 30, 70, that you don’t, you can declare what will happen.”
Fayose, however, criticised the violence, desperation and killings that occurred towards the end of the election.
He said, “But what greeted the election towards the end was unfortunate violence, desperation, and killings that were mostly unnecessary.”
He maintained that, based on what he observed, the election could have gone either way.
He said, “So let me say to you, the election, ordinarily because of the closeness, in my perception, could go either way.”
Fayose said the election should not only be viewed in terms of who won and who lost, but also through the voting patterns across different parts of the state.
He said, “So, but in an election, somebody must win, somebody must lose. If you look at that election very well, and that’s why I say people must look at, not, somebody has lost, somebody has won, you must look at that election, the dynamics very, very well.”
According to Fayose, Governor Adeleke’s 66,000-vote winning margin was heavily influenced by votes from Ede, which he described as the Adeleke family’s stronghold.
He said, “That election was won by 66,000 votes. 46 of that 40, of the 66,000 votes came from Ede, which is the stronghold of the Adelekes.”
Fayose said the result from Ede was not surprising because of the area’s long-standing support for the Adeleke family.
He said, “Everybody, all permutations pointed to, would not be a surprise when you get such figures from Ede. But I didn’t, personally I didn’t look out for a 46,000 out of 66, you understand? It’s all been a known fact that Ede is the base of the Adelekes.”
He also explained how the remaining votes contributed to the overall margin.
Fayose said, “Now you have 20,000 left. Another 6,000 is from Ilesa, from, uh, Osogbo. Then you have 14,000 left. And in another place, there was a 4,000. You have 10,000 left. In about five local governments, you have about 55,000 votes win, you understand?”
Fayose described the election as closely contested and congratulated the Adeleke family on the victory.
He said, “So let me say to you, it was a keenly contested election, which ordinarily, for Ede, would have gone either way.”
He added, “So let us commend the Adelekes for winning and remind them they need to be magnanimous in victory.”
Fayose also called for reconciliation among political actors in the state, saying the process should involve all stakeholders and not only the Accord Party.
He said, “Be magnanimous in victory. The language now must be right. Reconciliation must be total. Not with the Accord alone, but with all other stakeholders because all of you are from, from, um, from, um, Osun state.”
The former governor also spoke about claims that the Federal Government wanted to take over the election, saying such a move would be difficult to stop if the government truly wanted to influence the outcome.
He said, “The only thing I hear that, uh, towards the election was the federal government would take it by force, the federal government has come to do this. I want to say to you, if the federal government wants to take an election, they will take it. If the federal government… the ones I know of the past, if they want to take an election, there’s nothing you can do.”
Fayose’s comments came after the August 15 Osun governorship election, in which incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke won another term in office.
The discussion also touched on comments by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, that the Accord Party won the election because President Bola Tinubu allowed the poll to be free and fair.
Fayose agreed with Wike’s position, saying, “That, that exactly…”
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