Governor Ademola Adeleke has taken an early lead in the ongoing Osun State governorship election as counting and collation of results continue across the state.
Early results released by polling officials showed Adeleke, the Accord Party candidate, winning two of the first three results cited, while his major challenger, All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Bola Oyebamiji, won the other.
However, the emerging figures remain preliminary, with INEC’s official collation still ongoing. Reports from across the state indicate a competitive contest, with both Accord and APC recording victories in different polling units.
Adeleke Wins His Polling Unit
Adeleke recorded a decisive victory at his polling unit in Abogunde/Sagba, Ede North Local Government Area.
The governor reportedly scored 421 votes, defeating the other candidates at the unit.
The result came after Adeleke earlier urged INEC and security agencies to protect the integrity of votes during the collation process and called on residents to remain peaceful.
Aregbesola Loses Polling Unit to APC
In another closely watched result, former Osun State Governor and ADC National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, lost his polling unit to the APC.
The APC polled 256 votes, while Accord scored 43 votes and ADC recorded 13 votes.
The result was notable given Aregbesola’s political standing in Osun and his role as a leading figure within the ADC.
Collation Continues Across Osun
INEC has continued uploading results from polling units to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV) as collation progresses. By around 8:00 p.m., more than 3,100 of the 3,763 expected polling-unit results had reportedly been uploaded, according to checks cited by Punch.
The early results should not be interpreted as the final outcome. The winner will only be officially declared after INEC completes the collation and verification process.