Opposition political parties and ethnic youth leaders under the aegis of Opposition Party United for Democracy have passed a vote of confidence in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Joash Amupitan, over the peaceful conduct of the Osun State governorship election.
At a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the group described Tinubu and Amupitan as ‘new heroes of Nigerian democracy’ for their roles in conducting the election.
It also commended security agencies for their efforts in ensuring what it described as a free and credible poll, calling the Osun election a significant victory for democracy.
The coalition comprises members of some opposition parties and ethnic youth groups, including the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement, Ohanaeze Youth Movement, Middle Belt Youth Forum, Oduduwa Consultative Youth Movement, PBAT Door-to-Door Movement and the African Centre for Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR).
The National Organising Secretary of the Action Peoples Party (APP), Obed Agu, who read the statement on behalf of the APP National Chairman, Chief Uchenna Nnadi, said the election demonstrated that Nigeria could organise competitive polls where voters freely express their choices.
Agu, however, urged the Federal Government and INEC to ensure that the standard witnessed in Osun was not an isolated development but formed the basis for a more credible 2027 general election.
He said the significance of the Osun election went beyond the victory or defeat of individual candidates and parties, and commended INEC, its chairman, Tinubu, security agencies, and the people of Osun State for their contributions to the electoral process.
According to him, the real test of any election was whether citizens could vote without intimidation and have their choices respected, declaring that the Osun experience had strengthened confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process and offered important lessons ahead of the 2027 elections.
While paying special tribute to the INEC Chairman and his team, he stressed that the commission’s conduct in Osun had demonstrated the importance of an electoral umpire operating with independence and integrity, while the credibility of an election depended largely on the ability of the electoral commission to resist political pressure and allow voters to determine the outcome.
‘The most important achievement of any election is not necessarily who wins or who loses. It is whether the people believe that they had a genuine opportunity to determine their leadership through the ballot’.
He said the election in Osun has helped strengthen that confidence by creating an environment in which voters could exercise their constitutional rights and have their votes counted, insisting that INEC acted like an impartial referee whose responsibility was not to determine winners but to establish conditions under which the electorate could freely determine the outcome.
He said, ‘Mr Chairman, you have demonstrated through the Osun election that the credibility of an electoral institution ultimately depends on the courage, independence and integrity with which its leadership performs its constitutional responsibilities’
Agu said further that the INEC chairman, having emerged as a ‘new democratic hero’ following the Osun exercise, must allow the lessons from Osun to be institutionalised and replicated in subsequent elections across the country
He was of the view that President Tinubu deserve commendation for providing a level playing field for political parties during the election, saying democracy required more than the mere conduct of periodic elections, insisting that those in power must demonstrate the political maturity to allow citizens to freely choose their leaders even where the outcome might not favour the ruling party.
‘He allowed the electoral process to take its course. He allowed INEC to operate with the necessary independence. He allowed political parties to compete. And, most importantly, he demonstrated that the Federal Government can permit a genuinely competitive electoral process without seeking to predetermine the outcome,’ they said.
According to Agu, the group wants the President to sustain this approach ahead of 2027, arguing that the Osun election could serve as an important democratic precedent for the country.
‘The Osun experience provides an opportunity for the President and the Federal Government to establish a clear democratic precedent: that electoral power belongs ultimately to the Nigerian people, and that government must respect the sanctity of their votes.
‘Elections cannot be credible where voters are afraid to come out, electoral officials are threatened, materials cannot move safely, or political actors are allowed to intimidate their opponents,’ they said.
He said security agencies helped protect voters, electoral officials, and materials during the Osun election, allowing for a free election where people could exercise their franchise, and urged the agencies to maintain the same level of professionalism, neutrality, and restraint in future elections.
While also commending the people of Osun State for turning out to participate in the election and for demonstrating that political competition did not necessarily have to degenerate into violence, he describes the people of Osun State as the ‘real owners of democracy.’
According to him, political parties might nominate candidates, INEC might conduct elections, and security agencies might provide protection, but it was the people who ultimately conferred democratic legitimacy through their votes
While congratulating Governor Adeleke on his electoral victory and urged him to govern in the interest of every resident of Osun State, irrespective of political affiliation, saying ‘In a democracy, an election ends the contest but begins the responsibility to govern’.
The group, however, cautioned against portraying the Osun election as flawless, acknowledging that challenges might have occurred in logistics, administration, technology, and election-day operations, and insisting that credible democracy requires continuous improvement.
The group asked INEC to conduct a comprehensive post-election review and engage political parties and other stakeholders to identify weaknesses and develop mechanisms for preventing their recurrence.
The group demanded improvements in the management of electoral materials, voter accreditation, results management, collation procedures, communication with political parties and the deployment of technology.
They warned that the next general election would attract intense scrutiny from Nigerians and the international community, stressing that the standard established in the coming months would determine public confidence in Nigeria’s democracy.
They identified five conditions necessary for credible elections: independent electoral management, a level playing field, professional security agencies, freedom for voters to cast their ballots and an outcome that reflects the will of the electorate.
‘If political parties can compete, if INEC can operate independently, if the Federal Government can provide a level playing field, if security agencies can remain professional, if voters can cast their ballots without intimidation, and if the outcome can reflect the will of the electorate, then Nigeria has demonstrated that credible elections are possible,’ they said.
‘There is therefore no justification for lowering the standard in 2027. Osun must not be an exception; Osun must become the benchmark.’
The opposition parties and youth leaders called on INEC to build upon the Osun experience, the Federal Government to sustain what they described as the principle of non-interference, and security agencies to maintain neutrality and professionalism, while political parties must respect democratic rules.
They said parties could not demand credible elections from INEC and government institutions while denying their own members transparent processes for choosing candidates and leaders.
‘The sanctity of the ballot must begin with the internal democracy of political parties,’ they said.
They called for transparent nomination processes and urged political parties to resolve internal disagreements through established democratic and legal mechanisms rather than violence or intimidation.
The opposition parties and ethnic youth leaders also appealed to Nigerians not to become cynical about democracy despite the challenges confronting the country’s political system.
They said there were legitimate concerns about Nigeria’s electoral process but maintained that there were also reasons for optimism.
They argued that every improvement in the conduct of elections strengthened democracy, just as every acceptance of electoral outcomes by political leaders reinforced democratic culture.
‘Every time an election is conducted more credibly than the one before it, our democracy becomes stronger. Every time a political leader accepts the will of the people, democracy becomes stronger. Every time an electoral umpire refuses to compromise the integrity of the ballot, democracy becomes stronger.
‘And every time security agencies protect voters rather than intimidate them, democracy becomes stronger. And every time citizens insist that their votes must count, Nigeria becomes stronger’, they said.
They urged INEC, the Federal Government, security agencies, political parties, civil society organisations and citizens to collectively ensure that the next general elections were conducted with an even higher standard of transparency, neutrality, professionalism and respect for the people’s will.
According to them, ‘Osun has shown us what is possible. Now, Nigeria must build on it. The 2027 elections must be conducted with an even higher standard of transparency, neutrality, professionalism and respect for the will of the people’.