Adeleke Wins Osun Governorship Re-Election as APC Rejects Result, Weighs Tribunal Challenge

Adeleke Secures Second Term

The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party winner of the 2026 Osun State governorship election on Sunday, August 16, 2026. The Returning Officer, Professor Joshua Ogunwole of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, announced at the state collation centre in Osogbo that Adeleke polled 511,067 votes to defeat APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes. Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress placed a distant third with 17,180 votes. Adeleke won 19 of the state's 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji secured 11, giving the governor a winning margin of roughly 66,000 votes out of 1,005,800 total votes cast. INEC recorded 20,721 rejected votes. This marks Adeleke's second term in office and the first time the Accord Party has won the Osun governorship since its founding.

APC Rejects the Outcome

Despite the declaration, and President Bola Tinubu's public congratulatory call to Adeleke shortly after the result was announced, the APC has refused to concede. The Director-General of the APC governorship campaign, Oluwole Oke, told journalists on Monday that the party disputes INEC's declaration, maintaining that Adeleke did not secure the highest number of valid votes cast. The party's Osun chapter said in a statement issued in Osogbo that it had begun reviewing results across the state's 332 wards and would consult its legal team before deciding on next steps.

Tribunal Challenge Looms

The APC has indicated it may approach the Election Petition Tribunal, noting that Nigerian electoral law allows a defeated candidate a defined window to challenge a governorship result if they believe the process was flawed. As of this report, no formal petition had been filed. This would not be the first time an Osun governorship result has been contested in court. Adeleke's first victory in 2022 was briefly overturned by a tribunal in early 2023 before being restored on appeal. Whether history repeats itself will depend on the evidence the APC's legal team can assemble in the coming days.