Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to treat its defeat in the Osun governorship election as a strategic lesson ahead of the 2027 general elections, rather than a setback.

Bamidele, in a statement on Monday, acknowledged the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke, who secured re-election, and called on all contestants to accept the verdict of the electorate and work together for the development of the state.

He said the outcome had once again demonstrated that the ultimate power in a democracy rests with the people, urging political actors to respect the electorate’s decision.

According to him, Adeleke’s victory now comes with the responsibility to reunite Osun and provide inclusive governance beyond partisan lines.

“Governance entails a collective approach that must not exclude any section of the state,” he said, urging Adeleke to extend a hand of fellowship to other candidates and political parties.

In a striking political interpretation of the result, however, the Senate Leader argued that the APC should not regard itself as the ultimate loser in Osun.

He urged the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, to personally congratulate Adeleke and offer policy ideas that could assist the governor in governing the state.

“For me, the APC did not lose the election,” Bamidele declared, pointing to Adeleke’s previous membership of the APC and his support for President Bola Tinubu.

He argued that Adeleke’s victory could therefore be leveraged as a platform for broader political cooperation.

“Governor Adeleke’s re-election, therefore, is not just the victory for ACCORD, but also for us in the APC,” he said.

Beyond the immediate outcome, Bamidele said the election had provided the APC with valuable data for its 2027 strategy.

He cited the 51.57 per cent voter turnout as evidence of increasing voter participation and argued that the figure offered the APC an opportunity to rethink its mobilisation strategy across the South-West.

According to him, the party should work towards achieving at least 60 per cent voter turnout across South-West states in 2027.

More significantly, he said the APC should target 10 million votes for President Tinubu in the South-West by building a broader political coalition and strengthening its engagement with voters.

He described the target as achievable if the party learned the right lessons from Osun.

Bamidele also called for an overhaul of the party’s campaign strategy, saying future engagement must move beyond conventional political rallies.

He urged the APC to intensify engagement with artisans, traders, farmers, entrepreneurs, youths, women, labour unions, civil society organisations, community leaders, traditional rulers and the private sector.

“Our engagement approach, more than any time in our recent history, must be all-encompassing, and it must not leave any person or interest behind,” he said.

He said the party must communicate more effectively with Nigerians on the policies and achievements of the Tinubu administration, particularly in the areas of fiscal reforms, security, democratic development and economic growth.

Bamidele commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting what he described as a successful election, saying the outcome was clear and should be respected.

He congratulated Adeleke on his re-election, but reminded him that electoral victory carried a responsibility to govern for all.

To the APC and its candidate, he said the defeat should not be interpreted as political extinction.

“We have competed with courage, ideas and vigour, but the people decided otherwise,” he said.

“The outcome of this election does not make us a loser, but indeed a true stakeholder in the progress and posterity of Osun State.”

For Bamidele, therefore, Osun was not the end of the road for the APC—it was a warning, a data point and a rehearsal for the much bigger political battle of 2027.