......Accord candidate secures 511,067 votes to defeat APC's Bola Oyebamiji by 66,252 votes
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke of the Accord Party winner of the 2026 Osun State governorship election.
Professor Joshua Olalekan Ogunwole, the Returning Officer for the election, made the declaration at the collation centre in Osogbo after results from the state's 30 local government areas were collated.
Adeleke polled 511,067 votes, defeating his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 444,815 votes.
The margin between the two leading candidates was 66,252 votes.
The ADC candidate, Najeem Salaam, finished third with 17,180 votes.
Final result
Candidate Party Votes
Ademola Adeleke Accord 511,067
Bola Oyebamiji APC 444,815
Najeem Salaam. ADC. 17,180
Accord won 19 of Osun's 30 local government areas, while the APC won the remaining 11, according to the final collation.
Adeleke secures second term
The result gives Adeleke a second term as governor of Osun State.
He was first elected governor in 2022 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defeating the then incumbent, Gboyega Oyetola of the APC.
In the 2022 election, Adeleke polled 403,371 votes, while Oyetola received 375,027.
Adeleke's 2026 vote total is therefore more than 107,000 votes higher than his 2022 figure, although the comparison involves different political circumstances and party platforms.
He contested the 2026 election under Accord after leaving the PDP.
A closely watched contest
The election was closely watched because of the strength of the APC challenge and Adeleke's decision to seek re-election on a different party platform.
The APC fielded Oyebamiji, while Salaam contested for the ADC.
The campaign period saw competing claims over security, political violence and the conduct of the election.
Security was heightened across the state as voters went to the polls on Saturday.
Voting itself was reported to have taken place peacefully in many locations, although observers and political actors raised concerns about issues including voter turnout, vote-buying and isolated incidents.
Turnout remains a concern
The final figures announced for the election show 2,339,544 registered voters.
Of these, 1,010,684 were recorded as accredited voters, while total votes cast were reported as 1,005,800.
The figures include 985,079 valid votes and 20,721 rejected votes.
What happens next?
With the Returning Officer's declaration, Adeleke now has a fresh mandate to lead Osun for another four years, subject to any legal challenge that may arise.
The more difficult test will now be governance.
Voters will expect the administration to translate campaign promises and first-term claims into measurable improvements in areas such as infrastructure, education, healthcare, employment and workers' welfare.
For the APC, the result leaves a sizeable opposition constituency in the state, despite its defeat.
For INEC and other electoral stakeholders, attention will now shift towards the publication and verification of polling-unit results, post-election assessments and any disputes arising from the process.
For Osun residents, however, the election is no longer about who will govern.
That question has been answered. The next question is what the second Adeleke administration will do with the mandate it has received.
