Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has won re-election, securing a second term in office after defeating the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, in the governorship election held across the state on Saturday, August 15, 2026.
Adeleke, who contested the election on the platform of the Accord Party, polled 511,067 votes to emerge victorious, defeating Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes.
The result gave Adeleke a winning margin of 66,252 votes over his closest challenger.
The State Returning Officer for the election and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Professor Joshua Olalekan Ogunwole, declared Adeleke the winner at the state collation centre in Osogbo early Sunday morning.
Ogunwole subsequently returned the incumbent governor elected for another four-year term after results from the 30 local government areas had been collated and verified.
Adeleke Wins 19 LGAs as APC Takes 11
Adeleke secured victory in 19 of Osun State’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won in 11 LGAs.
The governor won in Ede North, Ede South, Ejigbo, Iwo, Egbedore, Ife North, Ife East, Ife Central, Oriade, Ifelodun, Orolu, Ayedaade, Ayedire, Odo Otin, Boluwaduro, Ilesa West, Ifedayo, Osogbo and Ila.
Oyebamiji, meanwhile, won in Irewole, Isokan, Olorunda, Atakunmosa East, Atakunmosa West, Ilesa East, Boripe, Irepodun, Obokun, Olaoluwa and Ife South.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, finished third with 17,180 votes, but failed to win any of the 30 local government areas.
According to the figures announced by the Returning Officer, 1,010,684 voters were accredited for the election, while Adeleke’s 511,067 votes placed him clearly ahead of the APC candidate.
Declaring the result, Ogunwole said Adeleke had satisfied the requirements of the law and was therefore returned elected.
“Ademola Nurudeen-Jackson Adeleke, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner of the August 15 governorship election and returned elected,” he said.
Adeleke’s victory extends his political control of Osun State after he defeated the APC’s Gboyega Oyetola in the 2022 governorship election.
The 2026 contest, however, came with a major political difference as Adeleke contested under the Accord Party after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while Oyebamiji emerged as the APC candidate.
The election was closely watched as a major political test ahead of the 2027 general elections, with both major camps deploying extensive political structures and mobilisation across the state.
With the result, Adeleke will remain governor of Osun State for another four years, while the APC faces the task of regrouping after failing to reclaim the state from the incumbent governor.
