Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has attributed the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) defeat in the August 15 Osun State governorship election to what he described as the intervention of “Abuja politicians” in the party’s campaign.

Sule said the outcome also demonstrated the considerable advantage enjoyed by an incumbent governor in a governorship election.

He made the remarks on Tuesday at a press briefing in Lafia while reflecting on the outcome of the keenly contested Osun election.

Governor Ademola Adeleke, the candidate of the Accord Party, defeated the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, as well as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, and 13 other candidates in the election.

Adeleke polled 511,067 votes to defeat Oyebamiji, who secured 444,815 votes, while Salaam came third with 17,180 votes.

The incumbent governor won in 19 of the 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji secured victory in the remaining 11.

The APC has rejected the outcome of the election and questioned aspects of the process.

However, Adeleke’s victory has continued to attract political reactions, with President Bola Tinubu congratulating him shortly after the election.

Speaking on the defeat of the APC, Sule said the party’s chances were undermined by the activities of some politicians from Abuja who, according to him, intervened in the state shortly before the election.

“I’m not going to brag about anything that we are going to do, but what I can tell you is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done well,” Sule said.“And then I see some people are actually happy and they are celebrating that APC has lost. APC lost partly because of the Abuja politicians.

“Because if not for some of these Abuja politicians, there was no way for APC to lose in Osun.”

The governor said the election had underscored the importance of incumbency in determining the outcome of governorship contests.

“But what it means is that the power of a sitting governor is not something you can joke around. That’s the message that was sent actually in Osun,” he said.

Sule further argued that those celebrating the APC’s defeat might be overlooking the role played by the incumbent governor’s political structure and influence.

“For people who are celebrating, they don’t even understand what the hell they are celebrating,” he said.

“What they are celebrating is that the power of a sitting governor in Osun is what has stopped them from winning.”

He maintained that the APC’s loss in Osun should not be interpreted as a rejection of the performance of the Tinubu administration at the federal level.

Rather, he attributed the outcome largely to the peculiar political dynamics surrounding the governorship contest and the influence of the incumbent administration in the state.

Lagos State Government has declared Thursday, August 20, 2026, a work-free day to enable residents and visitors to participate in this year’s Ìṣẹ̀ṣe Day celebrations.

The state government expects more than three million people to take part in activities marking the annual celebration, which promotes Yoruba traditional religion, culture and indigenous heritage.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Idris Aregbe, announced the arrangement in a statement issued on Wednesday, describing Ìṣẹ̀ṣe Day as more than an ordinary public holiday.

“Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is not a relic. It is a living expression of our traditions and a celebration of Yoruba spirituality as an important part of Nigeria’s cultural and religious landscape,” Aregbe said.

He noted that the Yoruba people, whose population is estimated at more than 55 million globally, have continued to preserve their cultural practices and pass them from one generation to another.

According to him, the continued observance of Yoruba traditions has also helped sustain Ìṣẹ̀ṣe celebrations among Yoruba communities in countries such as Cuba, Brazil and parts of the Caribbean.

“When the drums sound in Lagos on Thursday, they answer drums in Havana, in Salvador, in Port of Spain. Fifty-five million people and counting. Lagos is not observing a local holiday. Lagos is standing at the centre of a global heritage,” he said.

The celebration is the climax of a week-long programme of traditional activities and has been recognised as a work-free day in Lagos since 2023 following a request by the Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has maintained the practice annually as part of his administration’s commitment to promoting indigenous heritage and religious inclusiveness under the THEMES+ agenda.

Aregbe said this year’s programme would feature traditional prayers, rituals, processions, drumming and other cultural performances dedicated to the Òrìṣà. The activities will be coordinated by the Association of African Traditional Religion Nigeria and Overseas.

Aregbe urged participants to observe the celebrations peacefully and with respect for people of different faiths.

The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration has released a breakdown of the N15.8 trillion in savings from fuel subsidy removal and gains of other reforms over the last three years.

The Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on Wednesday, giving a detailed breakdown of the administration’s subsidy removal reforms.

According to Oyedele, the reforms resulted in N15.8 trillion in savings that accrued to the Federation Account.

He noted that the savings from fuel subsidy removal were shared among the Federal Government, states and local governments.

According to him, the Federal Government received N5.43 trillion, while the states received N6.52 trillion and local governments received N3.88 trillion from the fuel subsidy removal savings.

Oyedele explained that the reforms also generated N3.12 trillion in other incremental revenues and N11.85 trillion in incremental borrowing.

As a result, the Federal Government had approximately N20.4 trillion in incremental resources during the period under review.

However, he noted that additional expenditures incurred by the government during the same period amounted to approximately N30.64 trillion.

“The Federal Government had approximately N20.4 trillion in incremental resources.

“Over the same period, additional expenditures amounted to approximately N30.64 trillion. Subsidy removal therefore did not create one large pool of cash available to the Federal Government. It reduced a major fiscal burden and the amount of additional borrowing that would otherwise have been required”, he stated.

He added that of the N30.64 trillion in expenditures, N9.39 trillion was spent on wage adjustments, N9.37 trillion on external debt servicing, N6.47 trillion on infrastructure, and N3.14 trillion on electricity subsidies.

Tinubu had in May and June 2023, announced the removal of fuel subsidy and the liberalisation of the naira, which led to significant increases in fuel prices and fluctuations in the value of the naira.