Adeleke Wins Osun Governorship Election, Defeats Oyebamiji by 66,252 Votes
By Bayo Wahab
Governor Ademola Adeleke has been declared the winner of the 2026 Osun State governorship election after securing 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Oyebamiji polled 444,815 votes, leaving Adeleke with a winning margin of 66,252 votes.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Adeleke as the winner after the collation of results from all 30 local government areas in the state.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, finished in third position with 17,180 votes.
The result gives Adeleke another term as governor of Osun State.
Adeleke reacts to election victory
Shortly after his victory was announced, Adeleke expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for congratulating him.
The governor said the President had personally contacted him following the declaration of the result.
Adeleke described his victory as a triumph for democracy and the people of Osun State.
He also praised the President for his commitment to democratic governance, saying the survival of democracy remained important to the country.
The governor further appealed for unity after the election, saying he expected Oyebamiji to congratulate him.
According to Adeleke, the election should not produce a permanent winner or loser, stressing that the people of Osun State remained the ultimate beneficiaries of the democratic process.
Adeleke wins 19 local government areas
Results released during the collation showed that Adeleke won 19 of Osun State’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji secured victories in 11.
Among the local governments won by Adeleke were Ede North, Osogbo, Ede South, Iwo, Ife East, Ife Central, Ifelodun, Oriade, Egbedore, Odo Otin, Ilesa West, Ila, Ayedaade, Ife North, Orolu, Boluwaduro, Ayedire, Ifedayo and Ejigbo.
Some of Adeleke’s strongest performances came from areas where he recorded sizeable margins over the APC candidate.
In Ede North, Adeleke secured 35,427 votes against Oyebamiji’s 10,283.
He also recorded 26,188 votes in Ede South, compared with 6,219 votes for the APC candidate.
The results from the two Ede local government areas therefore gave Adeleke a major advantage.
Ede results boost Adeleke’s overall lead
The Ede axis emerged as one of the most important areas in the election.
Adeleke’s 35,427 votes in Ede North represented a margin of 25,144 votes over Oyebamiji.
In Ede South, the governor won by another 19,969 votes.
Taken together, Adeleke recorded 61,615 votes across the two councils, while Oyebamiji had 16,502.
The combined difference of 45,113 votes from the two Ede local government areas contributed substantially to Adeleke’s statewide advantage.
Adeleke also wins Osogbo
The governor maintained his lead in Osogbo, the state capital, where he polled 36,480 votes.
Oyebamiji received 30,474 votes in the local government, giving Adeleke a margin of 6,006 votes.
The ADC candidate received 1,503 votes in Osogbo.
Also Read: Osun Election: Oyebamiji, Oyetola Cast Votes in Ikire, Iragbiji
The result in Osogbo was significant because the state capital was expected to be competitive, with both the Accord and APC candidates attracting substantial support.
Adeleke takes the Ife axis
The Ife area also contributed to Adeleke’s victory.
He won Ife East with 27,201 votes against Oyebamiji’s 18,600, giving him an 8,601-vote advantage.
In Ife Central, Adeleke polled 21,171 votes while the APC candidate secured 15,913 votes.
Adeleke also won Ife North after recording 13,879 votes compared with Oyebamiji’s 9,613.
The APC, however, won Ife South, where Oyebamiji secured 14,678 votes against Adeleke’s 13,507.
Across the four Ife local government areas, Adeleke accumulated 75,758 votes, while Oyebamiji recorded 58,804.
That produced a combined advantage of 16,954 votes for Adeleke.
APC wins 11 local governments
Although Oyebamiji lost the statewide contest, the APC remained competitive across Osun State and won 11 local government areas.
The APC secured Ilesa East, Boripe, Irepodun, Obokun, Atakumosa West, Irewole, Atakumosa East, Isokan, Olaoluwa, Ife South and Olorunda.
One of Oyebamiji’s biggest victories came in Irewole, where the APC candidate polled 29,972 votes against Adeleke’s 10,934.
The 19,038-vote margin was one of the strongest APC performances recorded in the supplied results.
Oyebamiji also won Boripe with 19,963 votes against Adeleke’s 12,448, representing a margin of 7,515 votes.
However, the APC’s victories were not sufficient to cancel out Adeleke’s larger margins in several of the local governments won by the governor.
Electoral mathematics favours Adeleke
The final result highlights the importance of vote margins in statewide elections.
While the APC won 11 local government areas, Adeleke’s 19 victories produced enough votes to give him a substantial statewide advantage.
Adeleke finished with 511,067 votes, compared with Oyebamiji’s 444,815.
The resulting 66,252-vote difference ultimately determined the outcome.
The large margins recorded by Adeleke in places such as Ede North and Ede South were particularly important.
The governor also strengthened his position through victories in Osogbo, Ife East, Ife Central, Ife North, Egbedore, Iwo and Oriade.
What the result means for Osun
Adeleke’s victory confirms his continued political strength in several parts of Osun State, while the APC’s performance demonstrates that the opposition remains a significant force.
The distribution of the votes also shows that winning individual local government areas is not enough to determine the overall winner.
Instead, the size of each candidate’s advantage in their respective strongholds can have a decisive impact on the final statewide tally.
With INEC declaring Adeleke the winner, attention will now shift to the governor’s next term and the political implications of the result for Osun State ahead of future elections.
Final result:
- Ademola Adeleke: 511,067 votes
- Bola Oyebamiji: 444,815 votes
- Najeem Salaam: 17,180 votes
- Winning margin: 66,252 votes
- LGAs won by Adeleke: 19
- LGAs won by APC: 11
