Did Adeleke Follow Wike’s Orders to Protect His Victory?

What happens after votes are counted and an election is won? In Nigeria, the answer may extend well beyond the ballot box.

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My concern: if Adeleke wins, will he still support Mr. President? And I called him, because that’s my own interest.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike has revealed that he personally instructed Osun Gov. Ademola Adeleke to reaffirm his support for President Bola Tinubu after winning re-election in the Aug. 15 governorship election. Wike said he also told Adeleke to thank Tinubu for what he described as a free and fair election and to present his Certificate of Return to the president.

“My concern: if Adeleke wins, will he still support Mr. President? And I called him, because that’s my own interest,” Wike said during a media parley in Port Harcourt. He said Adeleke had previously promised to support Tinubu and that he asked whether he would keep that commitment. Adeleke later met Tinubu and presented the certificate.

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I called him, I said, ‘Listen, you have told me you’ll support Mr. President. Are you going to keep to it?’ He said he was going to keep to it. I said, ‘Okay.’ I wished him good luck. I didn’t need to go to Osun.

Wike said the intervention was a deliberate political strategy. Its purpose, he explained, was to prevent the African Democratic Congress from using Adeleke’s victory to gain influence. “What was that strategy? To knock off these people you call coalition coming to… curry favour. When Adeleke issued that statement, ADC withdrew,” he said.

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What was that strategy? To knock off these people you call coalition coming to… curry favour. When Adeleke issued that statement, ADC withdrew.

The disclosure has raised a broader question about where a voter’s mandate ends and political bargaining begins. Prof. Anthony Kila, a political analyst and director-general of the Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies, said the episode exposed a deeper institutional concern. “It’s not a good optic,” Kila said, warning that the personalization of politics could weaken democratic values and shift attention away from policies, programmes and ideas.

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It’s not a good optic.