Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party has won 19 of Osun State’s 30 Local Government Areas in the governorship election, while his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), secured 11 LGAs, according to results announced during the ongoing collation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The results give Adeleke a clear lead in the distribution of LGAs as collation continues at the INEC state collation centre in Osogbo.
The commission has also been uploading polling-unit results to its IReV portal, with more than 3,292 of the 3,763 expected polling-unit results uploaded as of Saturday night.
Adeleke recorded victories in Ede South, Ede North, Osogbo, Ife East, Ife Central, Ife North, Ilesa West, Iwo, Egbedore, Ejigbo, Ayedaade, Aiyedire, Ila, Ifelodun, Odo-Otin, Oriade, Orolu, Boluwaduro and Ifedayo.
Oyebamiji, however, won Ilesa East, Boripe, Irepodun, Obokun, Atakumosa West, Atakumosa East, Irewole, Isokan, Olaoluwa, Ife South and Olorunda.
Based on the 30 LGA figures released during the collation, Adeleke polled 511,167 votes, while Oyebamiji recorded 444,815 votes, giving the incumbent a lead of 66,352 votes.
The figures show that Adeleke’s strongest LGA performance was in Osogbo, where he secured 36,480 votes against Oyebamiji’s 30,474. He also recorded 35,427 votes in Ede North and 27,201 in Ife East.
Oyebamiji’s strongest showing was in Irewole, where he polled 29,972 votes against Adeleke’s 10,934. He also won Olorunda with 24,671 votes to Adeleke’s 23,514 and Ilesa East with 16,208 votes against 12,280.
Several LGAs produced closely fought contests. In Boluwaduro, Adeleke led by just 68 votes, polling 7,118 against Oyebamiji’s 7,050. In Isokan, Oyebamiji won 14,063 to Adeleke’s 13,765.
In Ejigbo, Adeleke polled 18,458 votes against Oyebamiji’s 16,195, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, recorded 5,053 votes.
The contest has effectively centred on Adeleke and Oyebamiji, although candidates from other political parties also participated in the election. The results were being collated after voting across the state’s 3,763 polling units.
The election was also marked by reports of isolated incidents, including allegations of violence, disruption of voting and glitches involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
The European Union Election Observation Mission’s observer hub reported security incidents and electoral offences during the exercise.
Adeleke, who is seeking another term in office, had earlier urged voters to follow the electoral process, while Oyebamiji campaigned on the platform of the APC in a contest widely regarded as a closely fought race.
As of the latest collation reports, INEC had yet to formally declare the winner, meaning the LGA totals should be regarded as collated results pending the official declaration by the Returning Officer.
