Tinubu Did Not Become President By Accident – APC Replies Aregbesola

Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed a statement by former Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola that the defections of governors to the party will not determine the 2027 election.

In a statement by its spokesman, Oladejo Seye, the party argued that such a remark was aimed at pushing the academic victory of the opposition during the 2023 presidential elections in Lagos.

The APC insisted that it was necessary to place the facts on record and correct the sweeping conclusions and convenient omissions embedded in Aregbesola’s remarks.

The statement reads: “First, it is intellectually disingenuous to isolate Lagos from the broader national picture. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerged victorious in the 2023 presidential election not by accident, but by building the widest national coalition, winning the constitutional spread, and securing the mandate of Nigerians across diverse regions.

“Presidential elections are won at the national level, not on the basis of a single state, however symbolic. To suggest otherwise betrays either a poor grasp of electoral realities or a deliberate attempt to mislead.

“Second, it is convenient for Mr. Aregbesola to forget that the so-called opposition “victory” in Lagos during the presidential election was pyrrhic at best. It neither altered the national outcome nor endured beyond that single contest. Just days later, during the governorship election, Lagosians reaffirmed their confidence in the APC and the progressive tradition by returning the party to office.

“Even more instructive, subsequent off-season bye-elections across the state produced sweeping victories for the APC, a clear and unmistakable reflection of the progressive party’s enduring control, structure, and grassroots acceptance in Lagos.

“Third, far from diminishing President Tinubu’s stature, the Lagos presidential election results enhanced his democratic credentials. They stand today as incontrovertible proof of his belief in, and commitment to, a credible electoral process.

“The fact that an opposition candidate could win in a state governed by his party underscores the integrity of the process under his watch and silences any lingering doubts about his democratic ethos.”