A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Farouk Aliyu, has admitted that members and supporters of the party underestimated Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, during the recent governorship election.
Aliyu said some APC members wrongly assumed that the Federal Government would guarantee the party’s victory at the polls, causing them to relax their efforts and take Adeleke and his supporters for granted.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Monday, the APC chieftain said the assumption contributed significantly to the party’s defeat in the election.
According to him, some party members believed the election would be easily won and therefore failed to put in the necessary work in some areas.
“Yes, there were sentiments, and members of our party, I think, also had an overkill. Some thought that probably the federal government would come and just drive everybody and write the results.
“Our members and supporters took Adeleke for granted, and the members of his party, his movement, in such a way that what we ordinarily ought to do in certain places, we didn’t do, thinking that, look, what is it? I will win the election. We can even do whatever to win the election. Well, that didn’t happen,” he said.
Aliyu also criticised a comment attributed to Senator Francis Fadahunsi, describing it as inappropriate for an APC figure to threaten opposition members.
He said Fadahunsi’s reported use of the word “kill” was wrong, regardless of the language in which the statement was made.
“But yes, I agree with you, Senator Fadahunsi spoke in Yoruba; I don’t speak Yoruba, I don’t understand Yoruba that much, I think what he did was very wrong, for coming out to say ‘kill’,” Aliyu stated.
The comments came after the APC suffered defeat in the Osun State governorship election, with Governor Ademola Adeleke emerging victorious at the poll.
