Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party has been declared winner of the 2026 Osun State governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Adeleke polled 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who secured 444,815 votes.
The Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Joshua Olalekan Ogunwole, announced the final result on Sunday after the collation of results from all 30 local government areas of the state.
With the declaration, Adeleke has secured another term as governor following a fiercely contested election that saw the Accord Party and APC engage in a keen battle across the state.
According to the final results, Adeleke won in 19 local government areas, while Oyebamiji prevailed in 11, underscoring the closely fought nature of the poll.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, finished third with 17,180 votes.
The election was conducted amid heightened security, following concerns over possible political violence, vote-buying and other electoral irregularities.
Reports from some polling locations indicated alleged attacks, complaints about the conduct of security personnel and concerns raised by political parties over the protection of their agents.
INEC had also uploaded polling unit results to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV) during the collation process, enabling voters, political parties and observers to track the results as they were received.
Adeleke had expressed confidence in his chances throughout the voting and collation exercise, while Oyebamiji and the APC had also maintained optimism of victory.
With the official declaration, the electoral process has now reached its conclusion, although dissatisfied candidates and political parties may seek redress through the appropriate legal channels.
The result is expected to trigger fresh political reactions across Osun State, while attention shifts to Adeleke’s second term and the priorities of his administration.
