By Davidson Ogbebor

Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party has been declared winner of the 2026 Osun State governorship election, securing a second term after defeating the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Oyebamiji, and 13 other contenders.

Adeleke polled 511,067 votes to emerge victorious in the election held across the 30 local government areas of the state on Saturday, August 15, 2026.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, announced Adeleke as the winner at the state collation centre in Osogbo early on Sunday after the final collation of results. Channels Television reported that the collation commenced at about 2 a.m. and was concluded around 8 a.m. on Sunday.

According to available results, APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji came second with 444,815 votes, while African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate Najeem Salaam finished third with 17,180 votes.

Adeleke’s victory was spread across the state, with the incumbent governor winning 19 of Osun’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji secured victory in the remaining 11 LGAs.

The election involved 15 candidates and was conducted across 3,763 polling units, 332 wards and 30 local government areas. INEC’s voter register contained 2,339,233 registered voters, while 1,005,800 votes were reported cast. Of the votes cast, 20,721 were rejected.

The result gives Adeleke another four-year mandate following his victory in the 2022 governorship election, when he defeated the then incumbent governor, Gboyega Oyetola, of the APC.

The 2026 contest, however, produced a markedly different political configuration, with Adeleke contesting under the Accord Party rather than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while the APC fielded Oyebamiji, a former Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority.

The outcome is also significant for the political calculations ahead of the 2027 general elections, as Osun was regarded as one of the major off-cycle governorship contests capable of offering an indication of voter sentiment and the strength of the major political parties ahead of the national elections.

Despite reports of a generally peaceful voting process in several parts of the state, election observers and some participants raised concerns about alleged vote buying, voter inducement, intimidation and technical difficulties involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in some polling units.

With the declaration, Adeleke becomes the first candidate of the Accord Party to win the Osun governorship since the party was established in 2006.

The governor’s re-election now places responsibility on his administration to consolidate its mandate, address outstanding development challenges and justify the confidence expressed by the electorate through the ballot.

For the APC and other opposition parties, the result represents another opportunity to reassess their strategies, campaign structures and connection with voters ahead of the 2027 elections.

The Osun election therefore ends another major off-cycle electoral contest in Nigeria, with Adeleke emerging as the clear winner and securing another term in office.