The All Progressives Congress (APC) may have lost the 2026 Osun State governorship election not because it lacked the machinery to win, but because divisions within the party weakened its chances, APC chieftain Farouk Aliyu has admitted.
Aliyu said the party made a serious effort to secure victory at the polls but was ultimately undone by internal disagreements that had lingered in the run-up to the election.Speaking on the outcome, the APC chieftain said the party had done everything it believed was necessary to win, but acknowledged that voters had the final say in a democratic contest.
“We did our best. We did everything we thought was enough to win the 2026 Osun governorship election. The people of Osun decided they wanted the Accord Party, and that is the beauty of democracy. I congratulate them.”
His remarks point to the internal challenges that confronted the APC before election day, particularly disagreements over its candidate.According to Aliyu, the discontent within the party created a situation in which some APC members were not fully committed to the campaign, weakening the party from within.
“There was a lot of internal wrangling in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State in the buildup to the election,” he said.
He noted that although the party could reflect on several aspects of its campaign, the most important lesson was the need to address internal divisions before future elections.
“Some people were not happy with our candidate. If we could have done anything differently, maybe that is the area to look at, because the APC defeated itself in Osun State,” Aliyu said.
The admission is significant because it shifts the focus away from external factors and towards the internal dynamics of the APC in Osun. Rather than blaming the electorate or questioning the legitimacy of the outcome, Aliyu acknowledged that the party needed to examine its own house.
His comments also underline the political reality that winning an election goes beyond having a strong candidate or campaign structure. Party unity, according to the APC chieftain’s assessment, can be just as decisive at the ballot box.
While congratulating the Accord Party and accepting the decision of the electorate, Aliyu’s assessment offers the APC a candid post-election diagnosis: the party’s biggest challenge in Osun may not have been its opponents, but the divisions within its own ranks.
For the APC, the task now is to learn from the defeat, rebuild confidence among its members and address the grievances that emerged during the election season. Whether the party can turn that lesson into a stronger political organisation will depend largely on how seriously it confronts the internal problems that Aliyu identified.
COURTESY: Guardian
