Ademola Adeleke has done it again.
The Osun governor has secured another four-year term after defeating APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji in the state’s governorship election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Adeleke the winner in the early hours of Sunday after the final results from all 30 local government areas (LGAs) were collated. INEC had scheduled the election for August 15, 2026.
The Final Numbers
Adeleke, who contested on the Accord Party platform, finished with 511,067 votes.
Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) followed with 444,814 votes.
That puts the governor 66,253 votes ahead of his closest challenger.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, placed third with 17,180 votes.
At a glance
- Ademola Adeleke (Accord): 511,067 votes
- Bola Oyebamiji (APC): 444,814 votes
- Najeem Salaam (ADC): 17,180 votes
- Winning margin: 66,253 votes
- LGAs won by Adeleke: 19
- LGAs won by Oyebamiji: 11
How the 30 LGAs Fell
The statewide result tells only part of the story. The LGA-by-LGA figures reveal where the election was won and lost.
Adeleke’s strongest victories
Adeleke built his advantage through several commanding performances, particularly in areas where his margins ran into thousands of votes.
Ede North was the standout. Adeleke secured 35,427 votes, compared with Oyebamiji’s 10,283. That produced a huge 25,144-vote margin.
Other significant Adeleke victories included:
- Ede South: 26,188 to 6,219
- Ife East: 27,201 to 18,600
- Iwo: 27,085 to 19,660
- Osogbo: 36,480 to 30,474
- Ife Central: 21,171 to 15,913
- Oriade: 21,343 to 14,863
- Egbedore: 19,278 to 11,193
- Ilesha West: 16,196 to 12,756
In several of these LGAs, the governor’s margins supplied the cushion that ultimately separated him from Oyebamiji statewide.
Where Oyebamiji Struck Back
The APC candidate was far from out of the contest.
Oyebamiji captured 11 LGAs, including several areas where he produced substantial leads.
His biggest LGA victory came in Irewole.
There, Oyebamiji polled 29,972 votes, while Adeleke recorded 10,934. The APC candidate therefore carried the LGA by 19,038 votes—his largest margin in the results.
Other notable Oyebamiji victories included:
- Boripe: 19,963 to 12,448
- Obokun: 16,120 to 12,023
- Ilesha East: 16,208 to 12,280
- Irepodun: 15,713 to 14,504
- Atakumosa West: 10,037 to 7,479
- Atakumosa East: 9,936 to 7,872
- Olorunda: 24,671 to 23,514
But the APC’s wins were not enough to overcome Adeleke’s larger aggregate advantage elsewhere.
The Closest Battles
Not every LGA produced a comfortable victory.
Boluwaduro was decided by just 68 votes. Adeleke took the LGA with 7,118 votes against Oyebamiji’s 7,050.
The contest was also tight in Isokan, where Oyebamiji edged Adeleke by only 298 votes:
- Oyebamiji: 14,063
- Adeleke: 13,765
- ADC: 384
In Ayedaade, Adeleke prevailed by 962 votes, while Ola Oluwa went to Oyebamiji by 719 votes.
These narrow results underline how sharply contested parts of the election were—even though the final statewide margin was much larger.
ADC Finishes Third
Najeem Salaam of the ADC finished behind the two leading candidates with 17,180 votes statewide.
His strongest showing among the supplied LGA figures came in Ejigbo, where he received 5,053 votes. Adeleke won the LGA with 18,458 votes, ahead of Oyebamiji’s 16,195.
What Decided the Election?
The clearest pattern is the difference between LGA count and vote margins.
Oyebamiji won 11 LGAs, but Adeleke’s 19 victories included several areas where he opened substantial gaps. Ede North alone gave the governor a margin exceeding 25,000 votes.
That was enough to offset Oyebamiji’s strongest performances, including his 19,038-vote advantage in Irewole.
In other words, this was not simply a contest over how many LGAs each candidate won. The size of those victories mattered.
The Verdict
After collating results from all 30 LGAs, INEC declared Ademola Adeleke the winner of the Osun governorship election.
The final tally:
Adeleke — 511,067
Oyebamiji — 444,814
Salaam — 17,180
Adeleke’s 66,253-vote advantage secured his return to the Osun State Government House.
The governor won 19 LGAs to Oyebamiji’s 11—and the decisive factor was ultimately not just the number of places he carried, but the size of the margins he built in several of his strongest constituencies.
INEC’s declaration followed the completion of the statewide collation, with Professor Joshua Olalekan Ogunwole, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, serving as the State Returning Officer. FUOYE confirms Ogunwole’s current position as its vice-chancellor.