Adeleke Re-Elected Osun Governor, Defeats APC’s Oyebamiji By 66,252 Votes

Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party has been re-elected governor of Osun State after defeat-ing his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the keenly contested governorship election.
Adeleke was declared winner in the early hours of Sunday following the conclusion of the colla-tion of results at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Osogbo, the state capital.
The State Returning Officer, Joshua Ogunwole, announced that Adeleke secured 511,067 votes to emerge ahead of Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes. Najeem Salaam of the African Demo-cratic Congress (ADC) came a distant third with 17,180 votes.
The result gave Adeleke a winning margin of 66,252 votes over the APC candidate.
Adeleke secured victory in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won in 11 LGAs.
The election was conducted amid heightened political tension and concerns over possible vio-lence following attacks and other security incidents reported in the days preceding the poll.
Despite the apprehension, voters turned out in significant numbers in several parts of the state, with large crowds reported at some polling units.
However, the exercise was not without challenges. Although election-related violence was re-portedly limited on polling day, there were incidents involving the alleged harassment of journal-ists and disruptions at some polling locations.
Voting commenced relatively early across several areas, but technical difficulties with the Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) caused delays and prolonged the voting process in some polling units.
The election also recorded allegations of vote-buying and voter intimidation in parts of the state, raising concerns among observers about the integrity of the electoral process.
With his victory, Adeleke secures another term as governor of Osun State, while the APC and other opposition parties are expected to assess the outcome of the closely fought election and the conduct of the exercise.