The Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday declared Adeleke of the Accord Party winner of the 2026 Osun State governorship election, defeating APC’s Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji by a margin of 66,252 votes.
The announcement ended days of intimidation, tension, IReV blackouts, Vote buying on election day and allegations of foul play.
After collation across all 30 LGAs, INEC announced that the Accord Party with incumbent governor Ademola Adeleke as its candidate polled 511,067 votes, while Bola Oyebamiji of All Progressive Congress got 444,815 votes. Najeem Salaam of African Democratic Congress ADC came a distant third with 17,180 votes.
The Total valid votes were 985,079, rejected ballots, 20,721 and total votes cast, 1,005,800. and a total of 2,339,544 were registered voters out of which 1,010,684 were accredited. Turnout at tyhe election was a massive 43.2%, a figure higher than the national average that produced president Bola Tinubu in 2023
Adeleke carried 19 of 30 LGAs, including his strongholds of Ede, Osogbo, Ilesa, and Iwo.
Oyebamiji won 11 LGAs, but couldn’t overcome Adeleke’s margins in the populous urban centres.
The 66,252-vote gap is one of the widest in a competitive Osun governorship contest in the last decade.
The result is a massive blow to the APC which had thrown everything at Osun. National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda called it a “must-win.”
A 276-member campaign council led by Gov. Hope Uzodimma was deployed. Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, Minister Adegboyega Oyetola, and several governors stormed Osogbo for the mega rally.
Despite that, APC leaders were seen leaving the state late Saturday as results tilted heavily against them.
“This was a referendum on performance, not party structure,” a political analyst in Osogbo said. “Osun people voted for continuity.”
While INEC had yet to issue the Certificate of Return at press time, celebrations had already erupted in Ede, Adeleke’s hometown.
Supporters were seen dancing in the streets chanting “Imole ti de.”
Adeleke, who defected from PDP to Accord Party earlier this year, campaigned on consolidating his welfare programmes, infrastructure projects, and grassroots empowerment.
With 95.85% of results uploaded to IReV by 1:33am Sunday and collation now complete, INEC is expected to issue Adeleke his Certificate of Return in the coming days.
For the APC, the loss raises urgent questions ahead of 2027.
If a “must-win” state with full federal backing can be lost by over 66,000 votes, the party’s 2027 playbook may need a rewrite.
For Osun, the message is clear: Adeleke gets four more years.
Credit: The Conclave with additional reports from our correspondent.