OSOGBO, OSUN STATE — The African Action Congress (AAC) candidate in the just-concluded Osun State governorship election, Olajide Esan, has attributed Governor Ademola Adeleke’s victory to alleged widespread vote buying and financial inducement during the election.

Esan made the claim during an interview with Arise News on Wednesday, arguing that the election result did not necessarily reflect widespread support for Adeleke’s policies but was influenced by the economic hardship confronting many residents.

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According to the AAC candidate, widespread poverty had left many voters vulnerable to immediate financial incentives, making what politicians could offer them at the point of voting more attractive than campaign promises and long-term development plans.

Esan alleged that vote buying and inducement cut across the major political parties that participated in the election, including the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Accord Party.

“Adeleke won the election, not really based on what he has to offer, but the capacity to promote inducement,” he said.

He argued that voters struggling to meet their daily needs were increasingly forced to consider immediate financial benefits when deciding which candidate to support.

“So it’s kind of, I say, like Nigerians are trapped because they are not really voting for who they want, but they are voting for who can, you know, buy their food, have the money to, I mean, to decide where the election is going to go,” Esan stated.

The AAC candidate said the situation represented a deeper problem within Nigeria’s electoral system, arguing that elections could fail to accurately reflect voters’ genuine preferences when economic hardship and financial inducement influence voting decisions.

“I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied with the outcome because the way elections have been in this country doesn’t really reflect the will of the people because of the situation that people in Nigeria are in today,” he said.

Esan also criticised the country’s two dominant political parties, arguing that there was little ideological difference between them and accusing their approach to governance of contributing to Nigeria’s economic and social challenges.

“Because the two parties, you call major parties, represent the same political ideology that has brought Nigeria to its knees,” he said.

Esan Questions Osun Government Spending

The AAC candidate also questioned the impact of government spending in Osun State, arguing that development should ultimately be measured by improvements in the living conditions and capabilities of residents.

He called for greater emphasis on human capital development, rather than projects which he alleged could provide opportunities for the diversion of public funds.

“Definitely, because if you really understand what standard is all about, a leader has to take human capital development seriously. It’s not just about doing kangaroo projects to siphon state money,” Esan said.

Asked whether he believed some projects executed by the Adeleke administration fell into that category, he responded:

“Definitely, definitely because there is a lot of money; I mean money has come into Osun State, but you can’t really see it on the people.”

The allegations against the state government are Esan’s political assessment and were not independently established in the information provided.

AAC Admits Voter Education Weakness

Esan rejected suggestions that the AAC performed poorly because it failed to campaign sufficiently, saying the party held rallies and engaged residents across several local government areas.

“We do our rally. We do different programmes in the Osun State. We go all across the local governments in the Osun State from ward to ward and all that,” he said.

However, he admitted that the party’s campaign had a significant weakness in voter education.

According to Esan, some residents who expressed support for the AAC did not fully understand the voting process or how to translate their preference into valid votes for the party.

He cited the example of a family of six which, according to him, initially indicated support for the AAC but eventually had only one member vote for the party.

“First of all, the lesson I’ve learned was that we didn’t do enough in the area of voter education because there were a lot of people, like there was a family of six who voted for us. But at the end of the day, we realised that only one of them did vote for AAC,” he explained.

Reflecting on the election, Esan said his biggest challenge was not simply competing against candidates fielded by rival political parties but confronting what he described as an entrenched political establishment and voter ignorance.

“I didn’t contest against our political party. I contested against the current establishment, the ignorance of our people,” he said.

Despite losing the election, Esan maintained that his campaign presented what he considered a stronger policy alternative to the electorate.

He insisted that the AAC manifesto contained better development proposals than those presented by the other candidates.

“Because of the fact that of all the candidates, I can say that I have the best manifesto and I have the best plan to show people,” Esan stated.

The AAC candidate’s comments are expected to fuel further debate over the influence of poverty, vote buying, voter education and political ideology on the outcome of the Osun governorship election.