2027: Support For Tinubu Non-Negotiable, Says Deputy Senate Minority Leader, Oyewunmi
The Senator representing Osun West Senatorial District and Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Olalere Oyewumi, has reaffirmed his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election, insisting that the decision to back the President was reached long before the recently concluded Osun State governorship election.
Oyewumi said the support was not a post-election arrangement designed to secure political advantage for Governor Ademola Adeleke, stressing that key political stakeholders in Osun had collectively resolved to support Tinubu’s second-term bid.
The senator made this known on Wednesday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, while reflecting on the outcome of the Osun governorship election, the aftermath of the poll, the relationship between the Osun State Government and the Presidency, political intimidation, the role of security agencies and preparations for the 2027 elections.
Oyewumi, who served as the Director-General of Adeleke’s campaign organisation during the governorship election, dismissed comments credited to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, suggesting that the President merely allowed the Accord Party to win the election.
He said the outcome of the election should be judged by the votes cast by Osun residents and not by post-election political arguments.
“Well, you see, as the DG of that campaign, that’s all it’s all from beginning to the end. Our prayer was to win that election. We worked tirelessly, we prayed to God Almighty to grant our effort to win, and now we have won.
“So those comments is not part of our game. Anybody, what we see will be different from what another person sees. The important thing is that Governor Ademola Adeleke has won the election.
“And that is to be different. Whatever anybody says, that is not the issue. The issue is we have contested and we have won, and we won convincingly.
“And everybody saw that the people of the state stood their ground. They are resilient. They showed what they wanted. They defended what they wanted. They went for what they wanted. And they got what they wanted.”
The senator said the administration’s performance was central to Adeleke’s victory, arguing that voters were responding to what they considered tangible achievements across the state.
According to him, the election should therefore serve as a lesson to politicians in government that performance remains one of the strongest determinants of electoral success.
“We saw what brought success to Governor Adeleke. It was his superlative performance. He touched everywhere, every sector. And when we are doing the campaign, we are learning lessons.
“Those of us in office, we are learning lessons. And the only thing that pays off now is to deliver. Senator Ademola Adeleke benefited from his immense performance. And people decided to show it to him that he has done well.”
Oyewumi expressed appreciation to the people of Osun State for supporting the governor at the polls, as well as to the institutions involved in conducting the election.
He said, “The people of our state have done very well. They promised us that they would stand by us. And they did exactly that. And we are very grateful to them.
“We are grateful to God. And we are grateful to the system. INEC, the president, everybody.”
On the decision by Adeleke and other political stakeholders in Osun to support Tinubu for a second term, Oyewumi said the position was not reached after the governorship election.
He explained that the decision had been discussed and agreed upon by stakeholders in the Southwest more than a year ago.
“You know, we started it. It’s not just about I’m keying into it.
“We started it together. As a senator in the southwest. As a deputy minority leader in the Senate. I’m a critical stakeholder in our Accord party in the southwest.
“Even if you are following the trend, before we went to our Accord party, even before we left PDP, the governor summoned all of us, all the leaders in the southwest, to a meeting. And so then we decided that we are going to support Mr. President for a second term.”
SUPPORT FOR CONTINUITY NOT TRIBALISM
The senator insisted that the support for Tinubu was not based on ethnicity or the fact that the President is from the Southwest.
According to him, the decision was informed by his assessment of Tinubu’s administration and the projects and reforms being implemented across the region.
“It is a long-time matter. Over a year ago, that we have decided that we are going to support Mr. President, not because he’s a Yoruba Man, but because as politicians, some of us have been in this game for a long time.”
Oyewumi, who said he first became a federal lawmaker in 1992, argued that his long experience in politics had allowed him to interact with successive administrations and assess the performance of political leaders.
“I was a member of House of Reps in 1992. That was almost 34 years ago. So we have interacted with so many people. This man has started well, admittedly, with a heart. But what he has started has affected us.”
He particularly cited federal infrastructure projects in Osun State as part of the reasons for supporting the President’s re-election.
He mentioned the Ibadan-Iwo-Osogbo Road and the Gbogan-Osogbo Road as major routes connecting Osun with neighbouring states, while also highlighting the Ibadan-Ikire-Ife-Ilesa Road.
Oyewumi said the latter road had previously become a serious safety concern for residents and commuters.
“More importantly to me as a person, is the Ibadan-Ikire-Ife-Ilesa Road.
“You know, I’m from Ikire. If I planned that road, you’d score that. It’s like a death trap.
“There was a day that five students of Osun State University died. Three of them belong to the same family of that road. And I went to the floor of the Red Chamber, and I raised that motion that this is terrible. I called on the President. I raised the motion the first time. I raised it the second time. But the third time, the whole Senate stood behind me, and it was passed as a resolution of the Senate.”
He said the Federal Government subsequently assured lawmakers that work would commence on the road.
“The letter was written to the Minister of Works. And the Minister called us three months later that they would soon start that road.
“If you get there now, you’ll be happy. You see, the only thing that we felt for is performance. Forget about who is in government.”
The senator also pointed to the establishment of a university in Osun State, describing it as another development that informed the political decision to support the President.
“We are convinced, he has given us a university in Osun State, and that university has commenced operation that is a parallel university of our culture and our language. They are giving it to us.”
Oyewumi said political considerations should not prevent states from benefiting from federal projects, arguing that development should take precedence over partisan differences.
“We are not losing as a state. And what the governors wanted, and those of us following, is that Osun State was going to develop from day to day.
“If you are having from the federal, we are having from the state, we are having from the senators, we are having from the House of Representatives, we know we are going to get it right.”
He said cooperation between different levels of government was necessary to deliver development, regardless of the political party controlling each institution.
“The government alone cannot do it. The federal alone cannot do it. But we are seeing a synergy in terms of development for the state we will not play politics of saying we don’t want good things, because they are coming from the opposition.”
Oyewumi further linked the support for Tinubu to what he described as the need to sustain ongoing reforms rather than repeatedly changing political direction.
“We are convinced of what it’s doing. And we know that all this, when completed, will make Osun State better.
“And that’s why we are going behind it. It’s all of us. That is our position in Accord Party in Osun State.”
The senator also dismissed suggestions that Adeleke’s support for Tinubu was simply a political manoeuvre to secure victory in the Osun governorship election.
He said the Accord Party’s position was consistent with the decision of its national leadership to support Tinubu.
“Every political party has their own ambition. Which you cannot query because that is their political party.”
Oyewumi said the party had chosen to aggregate the interests of its members and supporters around what it considered beneficial to the country.
“One of the functions of a political party is to aggregate the wishes of the people into a concise program that will benefit the people.
“The individual cannot be talking. But when you come together under one umbrella, you can aggregate your opinions and views together into a program and then chart a way to get it done for the betterment of the people.”
He also called on political leaders to place the welfare of Nigerians ahead of personal ambitions, saying citizens were more concerned about basic necessities than the political ambitions of individual politicians.
“Nigeria needs everybody’s hand now. Enough of unnecessary politics. No. Nigerian people want good life. They want stable electricity. They want to see water. They want to see good roads. They are not so much interested in who governs them now.”
The lawmaker added that the political class must focus on improving living conditions rather than constantly positioning itself for political office.
“People are hungry. Let us face the people first and stop talking of I want to be, I want to be, I want to be.”
OSUN APC
On the relationship between the Osun State Government, the APC in the state and the Presidency following Adeleke’s victory, Oyewumi alleged that some political actors had used the President’s name to create confusion during the election.
He alleged that the situation created an impression of competing authorities in the state.
“What is happening now confirms what we have been saying during the pre-election matter, that people are just dropping Mr. President’s name to perpetrate illegality to cause so much confusion in the electoral space in Osun State.”
He further alleged that political influence was being used to interfere with security operations in the state.
“They go to the police and give instructions. It’s like we are having two governors in Osun State. Oyetola was behaving like a city governor. The governor holds a security meeting and they decide to do something. Oyetola recalls the CP and they decide to do another thing.”
Oyewumi said the Adeleke camp deliberately avoided confrontation during the election period, choosing instead to mobilise voters and encourage them to exercise their democratic rights.
“We decided to keep calm. We decided to keep calm because we understand this game. It’s just to confuse the people and mislead them, embarrass them, harass them and force them to submission.
“So instead of joining them to that, we went to talk to the people and let them know that their fate is in their hands. They just take it there and come for action on August 15th.”
He alleged that some security deployments were intended to intimidate political actors and discourage voters from participating in the election.
Oyewumi specifically recounted an incident involving soldiers allegedly stationed around his residence shortly before the poll.
“Like I am talking to you on the two days of the election, Thursday night, about nine Hilux full of soldiers were in front of my house for two hours.
“Hilux full of soldiers. Soldiers, not the police. In front of my house for two good hours.
“From 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. in my house. So I just sat down there. I was looking at them, they were looking at me.
“After two hours, maybe somebody called them. They left. They left my house, they went somewhere else. Just to make sure that they terrorize people and they don’t come out for election. They don’t know Osun people. This is a part of the thing.”
He said the people of Osun State resisted what he described as attempts to intimidate them and ultimately expressed their preference through the ballot.
Oyewumi also criticised the APC leadership in Osun State, accusing some of its members of relying excessively on the President’s name and political influence.
“The APC in Osun state is a special breed of APC. They are different from other APCs that you see in other places. They are very, very terrible people. But they don’t understand the game. They are too young in politics.”
He alleged that the party had lost experienced political figures who could have provided strategic leadership.
“When people like Aregbesola have left, Omisore has left them, all the people that are giving them the AC they throw them away. The remaining people are politically babies.”
He accused some party members of attempting to use security agencies and political influence to intimidate opponents.
“The only thing they understand is to drop Mr. President name and embarrass people and shoot gun around and arrest people and say, go and kill, this and that.”
MISSION 2027
Oyewumi, however, said the outcome of the governorship election had settled the matter and that his focus was now on governance and the 2027 presidential election.
“What we wanted was to win the election and we have won the election. We move forward.”
He argued that Adeleke and other groups supporting Tinubu do not necessarily have to operate through the APC structure, pointing to other political leaders and groups that have expressed support for the President.
“The PDP now and the National Head of PDP, FCT Minister, Nyseom Wike is supporting Mr. President. Is it not? The governor of Anambra state, Prof. Soludo, is supporting Mr. President. The government of Abia state, Alex Otti is supporting Mr. President. Did you see any crisis in them?”
According to him, the President’s 2027 support base would extend beyond the APC and include independent political groups and organisations.
“There are so many doors that lead to the presidency. We have our own line. We do our own work. There is no crisis at all.”
He said the emerging coalition of support groups would ultimately be reflected in the structure of the 2027 campaign.
“The president has a very big organization. He has youth organization, women organization.
“This is one of the groups that the president is working for him. I would like to the campaign organogram will incorporate all sorts of groups. And the plan is to get the result in January.”
Oyewumi also stressed the importance of political stability and continuity, arguing that Nigeria should not repeatedly abandon reforms by changing direction every electoral cycle.
“We are not going to be drifting from one place to another. We are not going to be test running everybody. No. Let us stay put.
“We have started all this reform. We are on course. We can’t go back.
“Then we have to make it work. It is very important that we have to make it work. So that by the time the President is leaving, things will have stabilized. We will not be test running anything again. So that is why we are supporting him.”
The senator said the 2027 election should therefore be approached as an opportunity to consolidate development and reforms rather than another contest driven solely by personal political ambitions.
He maintained that the people of Osun State had spoken through the ballot in the governorship election and that politicians should respect their decision while focusing on governance.
Oyewumi also expressed confidence that cooperation between the Federal Government, state government and lawmakers could accelerate development in Osun State.
He said the experience of the governorship election should provide lessons for political actors, particularly on the need to respect voters, avoid intimidation and allow citizens to freely determine their political choices.
The senator’s comments come amid continuing political realignments following the August 15 Osun governorship election, in which Governor Ademola Adeleke secured re-election after defeating the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
The outcome has also triggered fresh discussions about the political relationship between the Osun State Government and the Presidency as preparations begin for the 2027 general election.
Oyewumi, however, insisted that there was no contradiction between Adeleke’s position in Osun State and his support for Tinubu at the presidential level.
He maintained that political actors could belong to different parties at the state level while working together on national issues where their interests converge.
For Oyewumi, the central issue is not party affiliation but the ability of government to deliver tangible benefits to citizens.
As the 2027 political season begins, he said his priority would be to support what he believes can strengthen governance, sustain reforms and improve the welfare of Nigerians.
“We are in the game, and the people will see the outcome. What is important is ensuring that governance continues to deliver meaningful benefits to the citizens.”
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