The 2026 Osun gubernatorial election ended in a landslide victory for incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke.
His decisive win could be attributed to incumbency, his family’s longstanding popularity in the state and other dynamics that helped him overcome the weight of federal support for his major contender, Bola Oyebamiji.
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Margin of Victory
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Sunday morning, declared Mr Adeleke the winner of the poll contested by 15 candidates. A PREMIUM TIMES analysis of the results announced by the commission’s returning officer, Joshua Ogunwole, shows that Mr Adeleke of the Accord Party won the election by a margin of 66,256 votes.
The politician, known for his viral dancing displays, polled 511,062 votes, edging out Mr Oyebamiji of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), who got 444, 811 votes.
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Voter turnout
The election, held in 332 polling units across the 30 local government areas in Osun, began around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, with voter turnout high in some areas and low in others. Osun State, according to INEC, has 2,399,233 registered voters, of whom 1,906,390 collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and were eligible to vote. INEC is yet to officially declare the voter turnout, but preliminary figures indicate that over half (over 51 per cent) of the eligible voters in the state cast their vote.
Firm grip on home bases
The two major contenders held sway over their territories, winning their local government areas with wide vote margins.
In Ede North, where Mr Adeleke hails from, he polled 35,427 votes, while his APC opponent got 10,283 votes.
Mr Oyebamiji also won big in his Irewole LGA, where he gathered 29,972 votes, leaving Mr Adeleke with 10,934 votes.
No of LGs won
Across the 30 local government areas, both candidates wrestled to consolidate their influence. While Mr Adeleke emerged victorious in 19 LGAs, Mr Oyebamiji won in the remaining 11.
Mr Adeleke’s win drew strength from the Ede axis – Ede North and Ede South – which delivered massive vote margins to him. He showed a similar strength in the metropolitan capital city of Osogbo and surrounding urban hubs like Egbedore, Ejigbo, Oriade, Orolu, Ifelodun, Iwo and the Ife axis (excluding Ife South), where it could be said that voters rewarded his infrastructural strides and prioritisation of workers’ welfare.
Overall, Mr Adeleke won in these 19 councils: Aiyedaade, Aiyedire, Boluwaduro, Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore, Ejigbo, Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North, Ifedayo, Ifelodun, Ila, Ilesa West, Iwo, Odo Otin, Oriade, Orolu and Osogbo.
On the other hand, Mr Oyebamiji’s victory in the 11 LGAs is significant. His homefront support system in the Irewole axis, alongside party influence in places like Boripe LGA, the hometown of the former Governor and current Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, set a solid foundation for the large votes he garnered.
Mr Oyebamiji won in these 11 local government areas: Atakunmosa East, Atakunmosa West, Boripe, Ife South, Ilesa East, Irepodun, Irewole, Isokan, Obokun, Ola Oluwa and Olorunda.
Mr Oyebamiji also reaped the advantage of high-profile endorsements before the election. In addition, some voters may have been attracted to his professional track record as a two-time commissioner of finance in the state and the immediate past managing director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).
LG with highest votes
The local government where the highest votes were recorded is Osogbo, where Mr Adeleke scored 36,480, and Mr Oyebamiji got a total of 30,474 votes. This indicates a winning margin of 6,006 and a total vote of 66,954 for the two leading candidates, higher than in any other local government.
The city has a total of 167,704 registered voters, out of which 70,840 were accredited.
Highest Margin
Even though both candidates won in their home fronts, Mr Adeleke’s sway in Ede North resulted in a margin of 25,144 votes, the highest margin in any local government area between the two leading candidates.
In contrast, in Irewole LGA, Mr Oyebamiji’s home, the vote margin stood at 19,038 votes.
Lowest Margin
It was a fierce contest in Aiyedadade LGA where Mr Adeleke scored 16,681 votes, surpassing Mr Oyebamiji by just 962 votes, the lowest vote margin in any local government. Mr Oyebamiji polled 15,719 votes in the council area.
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