Former lawmaker Dino Melaye has taken a swipe at the All Progressives Congress (APC) following the ruling party’s defeat in the Osun State governorship election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party the winner of the keenly contested August 15 poll, defeating APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji.
The result has continued to trigger reactions across Nigeria, with political allies and supporters of Adeleke celebrating the outcome while APC members contend with the implications of the defeat.
Melaye, a vocal critic of the ruling party, joined the growing list of commentators reacting to the result.
In a post on his official X account on Sunday, the former Kogi State lawmaker mocked the APC, pointing to the political strength it brought into the election but still failed to secure victory.
Melaye noted that the party went into the Osun election with the backing of President Bola Tinubu, the Senate President and 33 state governors, yet could not defeat Adeleke at the polls.
His comment appeared to be aimed at highlighting what he described as the limits of political power when confronted with the will of voters.
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He wrote: “Till we meet again APC. Rest in Peace. 33 Governors, Senate President and Tinubu defeated. Odabo Tinubu… Ancestral State lost.”
The former lawmaker’s reference to Tinubu’s “ancestral state” was a pointed jab at the President, whose political roots are closely associated with the South-West.
For Melaye, the Osun result represented more than an ordinary governorship defeat. It was, in his view, a political setback for a ruling party that had mobilised considerable political influence ahead of the election.
The result also adds another layer to the growing political calculations ahead of the 2027 general elections, particularly as opposition parties continue to test the strength of the APC in states where the ruling party has traditionally maintained significant influence.
With Adeleke securing another term, the Osun election is likely to remain a talking point in the political debate over voter sentiment, incumbency and the influence of federal power on state-level elections.
For Melaye, however, the message was considerably less diplomatic: the APC had the political machinery, but Osun voters still chose otherwise.