Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared that the All Progressives Congress can lose a South-West state under President Bola Tinubu without the sky falling, using the recent Osun governorship election as proof that Nigeria's democracy is maturing. Speaking on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at the seventh annual lecture of Freedom Online at the Sheraton Hotel in Ikeja, Sanwo-Olu addressed Nigeria's democratic development and preparations for the 2027 general elections. He pointed to the August 15 Osun election, where incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party defeated the APC candidate by over 60,000 votes, as evidence that the ruling party could lose an election without the electoral system collapsing. Under this President, Sanwo-Olu said, the ruling party can lose a state in the South-West and the sky does not fall, describing that as what a maturing democracy looks like.
Sanwo-Olu praised Tinubu's democratic credentials, calling him a lifelong democrat committed to strengthening Nigeria's democratic system. He noted a departure from the past when opposition parties could hardly stand a chance against the ruling party, recalling that there was a time when federal might was a phrase used without irony. He attributed improvements in the electoral process to changes in Nigeria's electoral system, including the Electoral Act of 2022, the newly enacted Electoral Act of 2026, and the use of technology for voter verification and transmission of results.
However, Sanwo-Olu called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to prepare adequately for the 2027 elections, stressing that the commission must be ready at every polling unit on the scheduled election dates. He warned political parties and candidates against actions that could undermine the electoral process, saying political victories should not come at the cost of human lives. A mandate, he said, is only as strong as the process that produced it, and no office in this land is worth the life of a single Nigerian.
The governor further said voters would assess state governments based on their performance when deciding how to vote in 2027, identifying roads, healthcare, and other basic services as issues that could influence voters' decisions. Voters may not be economists, he said, but they are excellent accountants who know whether their state built the road it promised and whether the primary health centre has a nurse in it. He also urged the media to scrutinise political parties and government officials, including members of the APC, and to challenge misinformation during the election period, asking for a rigorous press that checks the facts and calls out disinformation wherever it comes from.
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