Nyesom Wike, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, said he would have led President Bola Tinubu’s team to Osun State and produced a different result if the president had been interested in winning the election at all costs. 

Mr Wike made the remark at a press briefing on Tuesday, three days after incumbent governor Ademola Adeleke was declared winner of the governorship election held on Saturday.

Though Osun residents boasted of electing Mr Adeleke despite collecting money offered to buy their votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, Mr Wike insisted the outcome would have been different if he had been on the federal government team that went to Osun State.

“I am part of the federal government. I’m sure if the President wanted to win the Osun State election at all costs, I would have been there, and we would have won it, and the governor would have known that it would be different,” Mr Wike said.

The FCT minister said there was no federal might deployed to sway the Osun election outcome, adding that “Ordinarily, Adeleke would have been with APC if things had worked out well.”

Mr Wike also boasted of his capacity to win elections, citing the 2019 election in which he stood against federal forces and won.

Mr Adeleke defeated Mr Oyebamiji of the APC, and 13 other candidates in the just-concluded governorship election held on August 15.