Ademola Adeleke has been re-elected governor of Osun State for a second term, securing victory in the keenly contested governorship election.
Adeleke, the candidate of the Accord Party, was declared the winner early Sunday after an overnight collation of results at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Osogbo, the state capital.
The State Returning Officer, Joshua Ogunwole, announced that Adeleke polled 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who secured 444,815 votes.
Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) came a distant third with 17,180 votes.
Adeleke won in 19 local government areas, while Oyebamiji secured victory in 11.
The election was conducted amid heightened tension following reports of violence and attacks in the days leading up to the poll.
Despite the apprehension, the exercise witnessed a significant voter turnout, with large crowds reported at several polling units, at times overwhelming electoral officials.
Although Saturday’s voting was largely peaceful, there were isolated reports of election-related incidents, including the harassment of journalists and disruptions at some polling centres.
Voting commenced early across many parts of the state, but technical challenges involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) caused delays at several polling units.
The election was also affected by reported cases of vote-buying and allegations of voter intimidation in some parts of the state.
