The National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Dayo Israel, has called for a major strategic overhaul of the party following its defeat in the Osun State governorship election, warning that the outcome offers critical lessons ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Punch reported that Israel made the call in a post-election assessment titled, “Osun has spoken: The bitter truth APC must hear before 2027,” where he urged the party to undertake an honest review of its campaign strategy, grassroots mobilisation, internal cohesion and engagement with young people and women.
He cautioned the APC against explaining away the defeat or shifting blame to individuals, insisting that the result should instead prompt the party to examine its organisational weaknesses and rethink its approach to elections.
“The Osun governorship election has been won and lost. Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord has been declared re-elected with 511,067 votes, defeating our candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who received 444,815 votes.
“That margin is substantial enough to demand honest reflection, not excuses, blame-shifting or the familiar ritual of assembling another committee whose report may never change how we campaign,” he said.
Israel congratulated Adeleke and the people of Osun State, while commending Oyebamiji, APC members, agents and volunteers who participated in the election.
He also credited President Bola Tinubu with allowing the people of Osun to freely determine the outcome, while acknowledging Adeleke’s strong grassroots connection with voters.
According to the APC youth leader, the election demonstrated that electoral success goes beyond elite endorsement, policy arguments and the attendance of prominent politicians at rallies.
He said Adeleke’s accessibility, public engagement and personal style, including his dancing and singing, helped him establish an emotional connection with voters.
“For years, some members of the political elite have reduced Governor Adeleke to his dancing. That assessment has always underestimated both the man and the nature of Osun politics.
“Governor Adeleke’s dancing was never a weakness. It was a political language. It humanised him, made him accessible, and created emotional proximity with ordinary voters,” Israel said.
He urged the APC to abandon the assumption that influence within elite political circles automatically translates into electoral support at the grassroots.
“Politics is not only policy. It is emotion, identity, presence and belonging,” he said, adding that, “Our party must therefore stop confusing sophistication with electoral value.”
Israel also identified music star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, as an important factor in mobilising young voters for the opposition.
He said the singer deployed his influence, digital platforms, music industry connections and personal credibility to connect the campaign with younger voters.
“Davido did not treat his role as symbolic. He was placed at the centre of youth mobilisation and used his influence, networks, music, digital reach and personal credibility to connect the campaign to a generation,” he said.
The APC youth leader questioned whether the ruling party had sufficiently empowered young Nigerians capable of exercising comparable influence on its behalf.
“Who are the Davidos in the APC? Who are the young men and women within our movement who are willing to put their influence, creativity, reputation and networks visibly on the line for the party?” he asked.
Israel said the party could no longer rely predominantly on governors, senators and former political officeholders during election campaigns while sidelining its youth and women structures.
He particularly criticised what he described as the inadequate involvement of the constitutionally recognised National Youth Wing in the Osun campaign.
“I understand that some individuals had reportedly been working for months before this election. Yet the constitutionally recognised National Youth Wing was not meaningfully engaged.
“This is not about individuals. It is about an institutional culture that sidelines its own structures while relying on ad hoc arrangements during elections,” he added.
He further raised concerns over the absence of regular strategic meetings of the APC National Working Committee after the inauguration of the campaign council, describing the failure to assess progress and adjust strategy as a major organisational weakness.
Israel said youth and women leaders should be involved in the core planning of campaigns rather than being used mainly for crowd mobilisation.
“The National Youth Wing should not be activated only to fill stadiums or sidelined for support groups. A women’s wing should not be reduced to decoration at rallies,” he said.
He also advocated a change in the format of APC rallies, urging the party to give greater roles to local leaders, community organisers, women mobilisers, youth coordinators and other grassroots actors.
“A rally is not a ceremony. It is a mobilisation tool,” he stated.
According to him, bringing national figures and governors from outside Osun could generate visibility but would not necessarily secure votes without an effective local political structure.
“Bringing governors and national figures from outside Osun may create optics, but elections are won by those who understand the streets, compounds, markets, campuses, motor parks, churches, mosques and communities,” he said.
Israel further identified internal division as one of the party’s major weaknesses, arguing that sophisticated campaign technology could not make up for a fractured organisation.
“No amount of campaign technology can compensate for a fractured political family.
“We cannot continue with a ‘to your tents, O Israel’ approach and expect victory. Politics is addition. Sometimes it requires humility, accommodation and strategic reconciliation,” he maintained.
He called for stronger reconciliation efforts within the party, citing its ability to attract opposition governors in states such as Akwa Ibom and Plateau as evidence that political expansion was possible through coalition building.
Israel also proposed that the APC should be open to engaging Adeleke politically, stressing that political opponents could eventually become allies.
“We should also be bold enough to open a sincere political conversation with Governor Adeleke. In politics, yesterday’s opponent is sometimes tomorrow’s ally,” he said.
He warned the APC against waiting until a few weeks before elections before establishing campaign structures and expecting them to deliver victory.
“We must also end the practice of assembling campaign councils weeks before elections and expecting miracles.
“A campaign council must be formed early, properly funded, given clear deliverables and held accountable. Anything less is theatre, not strategy,” he added.
Israel called for the deliberate identification and empowerment of young communicators, creatives, professionals, digital influencers, campus leaders, community organisers and women mobilisers ahead of 2027.
While reflecting on the election, he praised Tinubu’s conduct, saying the President had demonstrated respect for democratic competition by allowing voters to determine the outcome.
“President Tinubu may have lost Osun for the APC, but he won something larger for Nigeria: another opportunity to demonstrate that the vote of the Nigerian people must matter,” he said.
He urged party members to view the defeat as an opportunity to rebuild rather than a reason to apportion blame.
“President Tinubu gave us a democratic contest. Governor Adeleke understood his people. Davido understood his generation.
“The question is whether the APC understands its own lesson.
“This is not a call for blame. It is a call for renewal. Silence will not win 2027,” he added.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of the APC leadership through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, were unsuccessful as he did not answer calls or respond to WhatsApp messages sent to his phone.
Tinubu group seeks strategy review
Meanwhile, the Ndigbo for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu 2027 Forum has urged Tinubu and the APC leadership to review the party’s political strategy ahead of the 2027 presidential election following its defeat in Osun.
The group described the result as a warning to the ruling party, questioning the effectiveness and grassroots reach of some of its structures after the APC failed to secure victory despite assurances from its Governors Forum.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its National Coordinator, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, and Secretary-General, Dr Ugwuoke Ugwuoke Jr, NDI-ABAT described the outcome as a wake-up call for the Presidency and the APC.
“The Osun election outcome should not be treated as an ordinary political event but as a crucial wake-up call for the Presidency and the APC leadership,” the group said.
The forum said the 2027 presidential campaign should be anchored on verifiable achievements, direct engagement with citizens and credible political messengers capable of taking the administration’s message to the grassroots.
It specifically urged Tinubu to empower the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, the National Leader of the City Boy Movement, Seyi Tinubu, and other grassroots mobilisers to strengthen nationwide engagement ahead of the election.
NDI-ABAT said Umahi had gained public confidence through infrastructure projects under the Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly road construction and other federal interventions, which it said should be better communicated to Nigerians.
The group also commended Seyi Tinubu and the City Boy Movement for their community engagement, youth mobilisation and collaboration with grassroots organisations.
It argued that electoral success in 2027 would depend on reaching communities directly, understanding citizens’ concerns and offering practical solutions.
“Political victory cannot be achieved solely through traditional structures and official assurances,” NDI-ABAT said.
The forum maintained that individuals and groups with established grassroots networks should complement the party’s conventional structures.
It also praised Governors Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi and Uba Sani of Kaduna, among others, for supporting Tinubu’s re-election bid and national development agenda.
NDI-ABAT urged the APC to distinguish between political structures that exist largely on paper and those with demonstrable capacity to mobilise voters at the community level.
The group also commended Tinubu for congratulating Adeleke, describing the gesture as a demonstration of respect for democratic institutions.
“The 2027 Presidential Election requires a new approach built around verifiable achievements, direct people-oriented engagements and trusted messengers,” it said.
