***Says Voters Sent Abuja’s Power Brokers Packing
***Shatters APC’s ‘Invincibility’ Ahead of 2027

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has described the outcome of the Osun State governorship election as a stunning rejection of political intimidation and “federal might”.
The party also mocked the army of governors, National Assembly leaders, ministers and other political heavyweights who descended on the state to secure victory for the ruling establishment but allegedly left under the cover of darkness after voters defied them.

The SDP National Chairman, Professor Sadiq Abubakar Gombe, speaking at a press briefing on the party’s assessment of the election, said the Osun electorate had delivered one of the clearest demonstrations in recent years that political power belongs to voters, not governors, legislators or the occupants of government offices.
He said the election had produced a lesson that should resonate across Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections: when voters are determined to defend their mandate, no amount of political machinery can substitute for the ballot.

According to him, the spectacle of political heavyweights converging on Osun in the days preceding the election, followed by their hurried departure after the results became clear, had turned the election into a profound lesson in the limits of political power.
He said the development should serve as a warning to those who believe that occupying a powerful government office automatically confers electoral control.

‘They went to Osun to take the mandate — the people refused’

The SDP chairman said the political establishment had treated the Osun election as a contest that could be overwhelmed through the deployment of governors, legislators, ministers, party officials and vast financial resources.
He specifically mocked the involvement of APC governors, the Senate President, his deputy and other political office holders who, he said, descended on the state with the expectation that their combined political weight would determine the outcome.

But, according to him, the electorate refused to surrender. “They went there with everything — governors, Senate leaders, ministers and the entire political machinery — but the people of Osun stood their ground,” he said.
He described the development as a political embarrassment for the powerful figures who had travelled to Osun to influence the election.

“They went for the kill, but when the people spoke, they sneaked out of Osun under the cover of the night,” he said.
The SDP chairman said the episode should remind political office holders that government positions are temporary and that voters ultimately possess the power to remove them through the ballot.

Osun voters ‘stood between intimidation and their votes’

The party commended Osun voters for what it described as extraordinary courage in turning out in large numbers despite alleged threats, intimidation and attempts to influence their choices.
The SDP chairman said the electorate’s determination to remain at polling units and ensure that votes were counted was perhaps the most important development from the election.

He urged Nigerians in other parts of the country to replicate that spirit in 2027. “Osun has shown Nigeria what voters can do when they decide that their votes must count,” he said.
The party said the significance of the election was heightened by the increase in voter participation.

It put turnout at about 49 per cent, compared with approximately 30 per cent recorded in the 2023 governorship election, describing the increase as evidence that voters were increasingly willing to take ownership of the democratic process.
The chairman said the surge in participation was particularly significant because it occurred amid what he described as a climate of intimidation, threats and aggressive political mobilisation.

‘This is the lesson Nigeria must learn’

According to the SDP, the Osun electorate did not merely vote; it stayed behind its votes.
The party said that distinction was crucial because elections could only become meaningful when citizens refused to abandon polling units after casting their ballots.

It urged Nigerians to adopt the same approach in 2027: vote, remain present, insist on counting and protect the integrity of the result through lawful means.
The chairman said the lesson was especially relevant to states where voters had become disillusioned with elections because of fear, inducement or the belief that political elites would eventually determine the outcome.

‘APC is not invincible’

The SDP said Osun had also punctured the perception that the ruling APC was electorally unbeatable.
“It is a warning signal to the ruling party to know that they are not sacrosanct. They can be defeated,” the chairman said.

He argued that the Osun result had shown that political parties should never confuse control of government institutions with control of voters.
According to him, political structures can mobilise resources and influence, but they cannot permanently manufacture voter loyalty.

The party said the election equally exposed weaknesses within the opposition.
It pointed out that opposition parties that have spent months discussing a coalition for 2027 failed to unite behind a single candidate in Osun.

Yet, the electorate itself effectively created a coalition at the ballot box by rallying around the candidate it considered most capable of defeating the ruling party.
“The opposition leadership did not come together, but the people of Osun came together,” the SDP chairman said.
He described this as one of the most important lessons of the election.

According to him, Nigerians may ultimately build their own political coalition from below if opposition leaders fail to resolve their differences from above.

INEC earns unexpected praise

The SDP chairman also praised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the election, saying the commission had earned greater public confidence by allowing the will of Osun voters to prevail.
He urged INEC Chairman, Professor George Akpabio, and the commission to maintain the standard in 2027.

The party said political actors and Nigerians should distinguish between legitimate criticism of electoral institutions and unfair condemnation when an election is transparently conducted.
“If INEC does the right thing, Nigerians need to come out in unison and applaud and encourage INEC,” he said.

A warning to security agencies

The party, however, raised concerns about the scale of security deployment required to manage the Osun election.
The chairman noted that the state’s 30 local government areas received extensive security and electoral deployment and questioned whether the country possessed sufficient personnel to replicate such an arrangement across the 774 local government areas during the 2027 elections.

He urged INEC and the security agencies to begin planning immediately.
With the general elections approaching, he said, Nigeria could not afford to wait until the last minute before addressing manpower, logistics and security requirements.

The SDP chairman also took a swipe at governors and other senior political office holders who allegedly abandoned their official responsibilities to participate in the Osun contest.
He called on the police and other security agencies to enforce electoral regulations governing the movement and activities of political actors on election day.

According to him, the presence of large numbers of political office holders and the deployment of state resources in another state can distort the electoral environment.
He warned that such practices must not be allowed to become normal ahead of 2027.

The message from Osun

For the SDP, the most powerful image from the election was not the political heavyweights who arrived in Osun, but the ordinary voters who remained behind.

The party said the people had demonstrated that democracy is not ultimately about the size of a convoy, the number of governors in a state or the political weight of those occupying public offices. It is about the voter.
The chairman challenged Nigerians, particularly citizens in states facing insecurity, poverty and poor governance, to draw inspiration from Osun.

He said the people of Zamfara, Katsina, Borno, Sokoto and other states facing severe challenges could equally use their votes to demand accountability.
“If the people of Osun can come out and defend their mandate, then Nigerians in other parts of the country can do much more,” he said.

The SDP said the Osun election had therefore transformed from a state contest into a national political lesson.
The lesson, according to the party, is simple: political power may arrive in Osun with governors, senators, ministers and money, but when the voters stand together, the ballot remains more powerful than the convoy.