By Raw Reporters News Desk | August 16, 2026
OSOGBO, Nigeria — The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke winner of the 2026 governorship election, securing him a second term after a closely watched contest in the South-West state.
Adeleke, who contested on the platform of the Accord Party, polled 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, who received 444,815 votes. Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress finished third with 17,180 votes. The result gave Adeleke a winning margin of 66,252 votes.
The governor won 19 of Osun State’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji secured 11. Adeleke recorded strong performances in Ede North, Ede South and Osogbo, where he defeated his APC challenger by significant margins.
The State Returning Officer announced the final result in Osogbo on Sunday morning following the collation of results from the 30 local government areas. The declaration brought an end to months of intense political campaigning involving 15 parties.
Celebrations followed the announcement in parts of the state, particularly Osogbo and Ede, Adeleke’s hometown, where supporters took to the streets to celebrate his victory.
The election also attracted scrutiny from civil society organisations and election observers. Although observers described voting in most locations as generally peaceful and orderly, reports documented alleged vote trading, voter obstruction, ballot exposure and isolated problems involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System.
Adeleke’s victory carries broader political significance because he won re-election under the Accord Party after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party, the platform on which he won the governorship election in 2022.
The APC said on Sunday that it was studying the outcome of the election before determining its next course of action.
With the declaration now completed, attention is expected to shift from the campaign to Adeleke’s second-term agenda and the response of opposition parties to the final result.