Governor Ademola Adeleke has been declared the winner of the 2026 Osun State governorship election after defeating the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, by 66,252 votes.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Adeleke the winner after results from all 30 Local Government Areas were collated.
Adeleke, who contested under the Accord Party, polled 511,067 votes, while Oyebamiji recorded 444,815 votes.
The result gives the incumbent governor a clear winning margin of 66,252 votes.
Adeleke wins 19 LGAs
Adeleke won 19 of the state’s 30 LGAs, while Oyebamiji secured victories in 11.
The governor won in Boluwaduro, Ede South, Ife North, Ilesa West, Ifedayo, Ife Central, Orolu, Osogbo, Oriade, Odo-Otin, Ife East, Ifelodun, Iwo, Ede North, Ila, Ayedire, Egbedore, Ayedaade and Ejigbo.
Oyebamiji won Ilesa East, Boripe, Irepodun, Obokun, Atakunmosa West, Irewole, Atakunmosa East, Isokan, Ola-Oluwa, Ife South and Olorunda.
Adeleke built much of his advantage in areas considered his traditional strongholds.
In Ede North, he polled 35,427 votes against Oyebamiji’s 10,283. He also won Ede South with 26,188 votes, compared with the APC candidate’s 6,219.
In Osogbo, the state capital, Adeleke secured 36,480 votes, while Oyebamiji received 30,474.
Oyebamiji wins 11 LGAs
Despite finishing second statewide, Oyebamiji recorded strong results in several areas.
His biggest victory came in Irewole, where he scored 29,972 votes against Adeleke’s 10,934.
He also won Boripe with 19,963 votes, while Adeleke received 12,448.
The APC candidate also secured Ilesa East, Irepodun, Obokun, Atakunmosa West, Atakunmosa East, Isokan, Ola-Oluwa, Ife South and Olorunda.
ADC candidate finishes third
African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate Najeem Salaam finished third with 17,180 votes.
He did not win any of the state’s 30 LGAs.
The remaining votes were shared among other candidates from the 15 political parties that contested the election.
Adeleke secures another term
The victory gives Adeleke another four years as governor of Osun State.
He first won the governorship election in 2022 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
His latest victory came under the Accord Party, marking his return to office on a different political platform.
The final result gives Accord control of a majority of the state’s LGAs, despite the strong challenge from the APC.
The declaration followed the collation of results by INEC returning officers, with Professor Joshua Ogunwole, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, serving as the state Returning Officer.
