Adeleke wins Osun governorship election| SOJWORLDNEWS | Osun State
Adeleke wins Osun governorship election —Governor Ademola Adeleke has won a second term as governor of Osun State. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him winner on Sunday morning, following overnight collation of results from across the state’s 30 local government areas. As a result, the Accord Party now holds the governorship for the first time in the party’s history.
According to INEC, Adeleke polled 511,067 votes, representing 50.8 percent of the total votes cast. Meanwhile, his closest rival, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), secured 444,815 votes, or 44.2 percent. Consequently, Adeleke’s margin of victory stood at over 66,000 votes. In addition, Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) finished third with 17,180 votes, while the remaining twelve candidates shared the rest.
INEC Returning Officer Professor Joshua Olalekan Ogunwole announced the result at the state collation centre in Osogbo. During the declaration, he confirmed that Adeleke, “having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared winner.” Afterward, jubilation broke out among Accord Party supporters, many of whom had gathered at polling units and collation centres since voting began on Saturday.
Overall, more than one million votes were cast across the state’s 3,763 polling units, out of 2,339,233 registered voters. Notably, this figure marks the highest number of registered voters recorded in any Osun governorship election to date. Furthermore, INEC reported that 81.5 percent of registered voters had collected their Permanent Voter Cards, making them eligible to participate. Ultimately, however, 20,721 ballots were rejected, accounting for roughly 2.06 percent of the total votes cast.
Throughout the collation process, Adeleke built a commanding lead. Indeed, he won in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji led in the remaining 11. In Osogbo, for instance, Adeleke polled 36,480 votes against Oyebamiji’s 30,474, giving him a margin of over 6,000 votes in his home local government. Similarly, results from Ede North and several other areas showed strong support for the incumbent governor throughout the day.
Nevertheless, the election was not without controversy. Reports of intimidation, vote-buying, and other forms of electoral malpractice emerged from several areas, even though voting proceeded peacefully across most of the state. Additionally, observers noted that BVAS machines malfunctioned at a number of polling units, which caused delays in accreditation and voting. Meanwhile, a member of the Accord Party was reportedly found in possession of multiple voter cards, raising further questions about the integrity of the process. Despite these concerns, INEC proceeded with collation and ultimately confirmed the result.
This is the second consecutive governorship victory for Adeleke, though this time under a different political platform. In 2022, he defeated then-incumbent Gboyega Oyetola under the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Since then, however, Adeleke has moved to the Accord Party, and as a result, he becomes the first Accord Party candidate ever to win the Osun governorship seat.
Looking ahead, Adeleke is set to begin his second term as governor, having now defeated APC candidates in two consecutive elections. Meanwhile, the APC has not yet issued an official response to the declared results, though further reactions from opposition parties are expected in the coming days. As collation officially concludes and final figures are certified, attention will likely turn to whether Oyebamiji or the APC choose to challenge the outcome through legal channels, a path Adeleke himself pursued unsuccessfully after his own contested loss in 2018.
For now, though, the numbers stand clear, and Osun State enters a new four-year chapter under Governor Ademola Adeleke’s continued leadership.
Tags: Ademola Adeleke, Osun State, Osun governorship election 2026, INEC, Accord Party, Bola Oyebamiji, APC, Nigeria politics, Osogbo, election results
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