The National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rauf Aregbesola, has cautioned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against assuming that the growing number of governors joining the party will automatically secure victory in the 2027 general elections.
Aregbesola made the remarks while speaking at the launch of a book authored by the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary. He described as worrisome the widespread belief that the backing of multiple governors guarantees electoral success.
“There is this assertion going around which is worrisome. Some people believe that because about 30 governors are supporting a party, that party is certain to win the election,” he said.
According to Aregbesola, recent electoral outcomes in Nigeria do not support such assumptions. He argued that the results of the last general election clearly contradict the idea that governors alone determine the outcome of elections.
“Recent statistics in Nigeria do not support this belief. The results of the last election in this country do not support that argument,” he stated.
To buttress his position, Aregbesola cited the 2023 general elections, pointing to voting patterns in the South-West and South-East regions.
“I will use the results from two zones — the South-West and the South-East — to puncture this argument that governors define electoral victory for political parties,” he said.
He noted that despite the dominance of APC governors in the South-West during the last election cycle, the party secured only about 55 per cent of the total votes in the region. According to him, this shows that voter behaviour and political dynamics go beyond the influence of state governors.
