Bashir Ahmad Obi clash deepens as Ahmad urges Peter Obi to accept the Osun election result regardless of which candidate wins
Bashir Ahmad, former media aide to late President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, August 14, 2026, challenged Peter Obi over the Osun governorship election, asking whether the former Anambra governor would accept the result if All Progressives Congress candidate Bola Oyebamiji wins.
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Obi had earlier called on voters in Osun State to choose their governor freely and urged political actors to maintain peace ahead of Saturday’s poll.
“Osun State: Let The People choose, let peace Prevail,” Obi wrote on X.
Responding to the message, Ahmad said the real test of Obi’s position would come if the APC secured victory.
“All that you have said sounds good, Mr. Peter Obi, but the real test will come if the good people of Osun vote tomorrow and the APC eventually wins, as all indications suggest,” Ahmad wrote.
Ahmad questioned whether Obi and others who share his political position would congratulate the eventual winner and recognise the election as credible if the result favoured the APC.
“We will see if you and those who share your position will come here to congratulate the winner and acknowledge that the election was credible,” he said.
The former presidential aide went further, alleging that some opposition voices give the impression that an election is considered free and credible only when the APC loses.
“Because, unfortunately, the impression given by you and many others is that an election is considered ‘free and credible’ only when the APC loses,” Ahmad said.
His comments add another layer to an increasingly intense political contest in Osun, where Governor Ademola Adeleke is seeking re-election against Oyebamiji and African Democratic Congress candidate Najeem Salaam. INEC has confirmed August 15 as the election date.
The contest has already generated sharp exchanges between the major political camps.
Adeleke has previously accused APC figures of attempting to disrupt the election, while Oyebamiji has maintained that he is the candidate endorsed by President Bola Tinubu.
Oyebamiji has also promised to run an administration based on fairness, transparency and accountability.
The election is taking place across Osun’s 30 local government areas, with the electorate deciding whether to return Adeleke or hand the governorship to another candidate.
Ahmad ended his intervention by appealing for political maturity after the votes have been counted, regardless of which party emerges victorious.
“Democracy must be respected regardless of who wins. Let the people vote and let us have the integrity to accept and congratulate the winner even when the outcome does not suit our preferred candidate,” he said.
The appeal comes as attention turns from campaign rhetoric to the conduct of the vote itself.
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For voters, the more consequential test will be whether the process is peaceful and whether competing parties accept the final result through the appropriate electoral and legal channels.
