Former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has stressed that the 2027 general elections will not be determined by incumbency, control of state power, or a wave of political defections.

The chieftain of the African Democratic Congress disclosed at the public launch of “The Loyalist,’’ a memoir by National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, in Abuja.

The event was attended by political stakeholders, former public office holders, lawmakers, intellectuals, and party stakeholders.

According to him, being a governor of a state and being an incumbent don't automatically determine election outcomes.

Drawing on the 2023 electoral results, he said the belief that political office guaranteed victory was not supported by evidence.

“The fact that certain governors are defecting to the APC shows that our unity is weakened, but the statistics do not support the belief that governors win elections,” Aregbesola said.

Using the South-West as an example, he said ruling party dominance at the state level had not translated into overwhelming electoral success.

“In the South-West, the APC controlled all the states except one, yet the maximum performance of the party was 55 per cent, with the other parties sharing the rest,” he said.

The other speakers at the event were former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi; former Minister of Interior and ADC National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola; former Senate President and ADC National Chairman, David Mark, and veteran columnist and public intellectual, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed.