APC Nat’l Youth Leader Reveals Why Party Lost Osun Election

The National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dayo Israel, has identified weak grassroots mobilisation, internal divisions and overreliance on established political figures as major factors behind the party’s defeat in the just concluded Osun governorship election.

Israel, in a post-election statement titled “Osun Has Spoken: The Bitter Truth APC Must Hear Before 2027,” urged the APC to undertake an honest assessment of the defeat rather than resort to blame-shifting or setting up committees whose recommendations may not translate into meaningful reforms.

Politics Nigeria reports that the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, polled 444,815 votes, while the incumbent governor and Accord Party candidate, Ademola Adeleke, secured 511,067 votes to emerge victorious.

While congratulating Adeleke and commending the APC candidate, party members, agents and volunteers, Israel said the outcome should serve as a warning ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He said the election demonstrated that political structures alone were insufficient to secure victory, stressing that parties must understand the cultural, emotional and grassroots dynamics that shape voters’ decisions.

According to Israel, three personalities played defining roles in the election including President Bola Tinubu, Governor Ademola Adeleke and singer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido.

He commended President Tinubu for allowing Osun voters to freely determine the outcome of the election without allegedly deploying federal institutions or security agencies to influence the contest.

“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.

Israel also credited Adeleke’s accessibility and ability to connect with ordinary voters, rejecting the perception among some political elites that the governor’s public dancing and entertainment-oriented personality weakened his political appeal.

He argued that Adeleke had successfully transformed those attributes into a political communication tool that strengthened his emotional connection with voters.

“Governor Adeleke’s dancing was never a weakness. It was a political language. It humanised him, made him accessible, and created emotional proximity with ordinary voters,” Israel said.

He maintained that electoral politics was not driven solely by policy debates and elite discourse, noting that identity, emotion, cultural familiarity and a sense of belonging could significantly influence voting behaviour.

Israel cited former Osun governors: Bisi Akande and Rauf Aregbesola, as well as former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, as examples of politicians who successfully deployed cultural familiarity and public presence in political communication.

He warned the APC against equating elite sophistication with electoral strength.

“A candidate may dominate elite discourse and still fail to move a ward. Another may be mocked in elite spaces and still command overwhelming loyalty on the ground,” he said.

On Davido’s role, Israel said the singer leveraged his popularity, networks, music, digital platforms and personal credibility to connect Adeleke’s campaign with younger voters.

He said Davido’s involvement helped attract artistes, influencers and young Nigerians to the campaign, creating a broader network of support beyond traditional political structures.

Israel contrasted this with the APC’s dependence on governors, senators and former political office holders, questioning their ability to inspire and mobilise younger Nigerians.

“These leaders are important, but we must ask a hard question: how many young Nigerians do they genuinely inspire, mobilise or emotionally connect with?” he asked.

The APC youth leader urged the party to identify, develop and empower young Nigerians capable of deploying their influence, creativity, reputation and networks to expand the party’s appeal.

Drawing from his experience during the 2022 Osun governorship election, Israel said the party’s previous defeat was also linked to internal divisions, weak reconciliation and fragmented mobilisation.

He recalled travelling across communities, engaging stakeholders and participating in reconciliation efforts involving former party leaders who had left the APC.

Israel said he was also part of the party’s election-day situation room at the Osun Government House, where real-time reports from polling units indicated by midday that the contest was slipping away amid alleged inducement, local tensions and mobilisation weaknesses.

“We did not lose 2022 because there was no effort. We lost because division, weak reconciliation and fragmented mobilisation overwhelmed that effort,” he said.

He expressed concern that several of the problems identified in 2022 remained unresolved four years later.

Israel also criticised what he described as the inadequate involvement of the constitutionally recognised National Youth Wing in the 2026 campaign.

According to him, individuals worked for months on the election, but the National Youth Wing was not meaningfully integrated into the campaign structure.

He said he personally offered to assist but was referred to an individual who promised to contact him, a call he said never came.

“This is not about individuals. It is about an institutional culture that sidelines its own structures while relying on ad hoc arrangements during elections,” Israel said.

He further faulted the National Working Committee for failing to hold a formal meeting after the inauguration of the campaign council to assess the campaign’s progress, review its strategy and make necessary adjustments.

Israel warned that the APC could face similar setbacks in 2027 unless it addresses its internal weaknesses, strengthens reconciliation, empowers its youth structures and builds genuine grassroots networks.

He said the Osun defeat should therefore be treated not merely as an electoral loss but as a strategic warning that the party must heed before the next general election.