Federal Support Won’t Guarantee Victory for Opposition – Bala Mohammed
Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has warned opposition politicians against relying on Federal Government support to win elections.
Mohammed spoke on Monday after casting his vote at Model Central Primary School, Yalwan Duguri, in Alkaleri Local Government Area during the Bauchi State local government elections.
He said political parties should participate in elections and allow voters to decide their fate instead of staying away from the polls because they expect support from the Federal Government.
Mohammed described the decision by some opposition parties to boycott the council elections as a mistake. According to him, such parties should have used the election to test their popularity among voters.
“If they had listened to me, my advice was that they should have gone ahead to test their popularity. If you sit down at home and think that the Federal Government will give you latitude and leeway to win an election, President Tinubu is showing people that he is a democrat,” he said.
The governor said the recent Osun State governorship election was an example of how voters could determine the outcome of an election, regardless of political influence from Abuja.
Governor Ademola Adeleke was declared the winner of the Osun election after defeating the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
Adeleke polled 511,067 votes, while Oyebamiji secured 444,815 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, came third with 17,180 votes.
Adeleke won 19 of Osun’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11. The result gave Adeleke a margin of 66,252 votes.
Mohammed said the result showed that political parties could not simply depend on federal influence to secure victory.
“You have seen what happened in Osun; the people voted, and their votes counted. People should know that there is no person that is going to install them—there is no monarchy here. It is democratic governance,” he said.
His comment came a day after Adeleke reaffirmed his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term in 2027.
Adeleke made the declaration in his victory speech after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced him as the winner of the election.
“At this point, I must deeply appreciate Mr President, His Excellency, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his strong support for a free and fair election. Mr President is a son of Osun State, and I hereby reaffirm my earlier endorsement of him for a second term in the 2027 presidential election,” Adeleke said.
The Osun governor had previously endorsed Tinubu despite being a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He later defected to the Accord Party to contest the governorship election while maintaining his support for Tinubu.
Adeleke also thanked Tinubu for what he described as the President’s role in promoting a free and fair election. He specifically mentioned Tinubu’s earlier directive that led to the unfreezing of the Osun State Government’s account by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The governor also revealed that Tinubu personally called to congratulate him after the election.
Accord Party chieftain Pelumi Olajengbesi had earlier said the President contacted Adeleke before the final result was announced.
However, Olajengbesi also alleged that some opposition supporters were intimidated and arrested during the election.
INEC recorded 2,339,544 registered voters in Osun, with 1,010,684 accredited for the election. A total of 1,005,800 ballots were cast, with 985,097 valid votes and 20,721 rejected votes.
