Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has praised the people of Osun State for what he described as their determination to protect their votes in Saturday’s governorship election.
Atiku said the result, which saw Governor Ademola Adeleke secure a second term, showed that voters could stand up to political pressure and defend their choice at the ballot box.
Speaking on Channels Television on Monday, Atiku’s campaign spokesman, Kenneth Okonkwo, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of using what he called “political banditry” and the power of the Federal Government against the opposition in the state.
Okonkwo said the people of Osun had faced arrests, violence and intimidation but refused to back down.
“If you recall, Osun people were arrested, they were jailed, they were injured, they were killed. But they resisted. They did not succumb to all those banditry,” he said.
He also claimed that ministers, governors, lawmakers and other political heavyweights were deployed to the state in support of the APC.
Despite this, he said, voters came out to defend their choices, proving that “the power of the people will always be greater than the people in power”.
