Osun Election: Adeleke Opens Over 60,000-Vote Lead Over APC’s Oyebamiji as Results Pour In

Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party has taken an early lead over his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) continues the collation of results from the 2026 Osun State governorship election.

The incumbent governor’s advantage emerged from results being announced from local government areas across the state following Saturday’s election. Reports indicate that Adeleke had established a lead of more than 60,000 votes over Oyebamiji after results from 14 local government areas were taken into account.

The development represents a significant early advantage for Adeleke in a contest that has attracted considerable attention across Osun and beyond. The election pits the incumbent governor against Oyebamiji, a former National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) managing director and the APC’s candidate.

Earlier figures from 14 LGAs also showed Adeleke ahead, although the precise margin varied as additional results were announced and different result aggregations were updated. One published collation based on 14 LGAs put Adeleke at 231,412 votes against Oyebamiji’s 197,785, a difference of 33,627 votes, underscoring why figures from the ongoing collation should be treated as provisional until INEC completes the process.

As the collation progressed, Adeleke’s advantage widened substantially. Reports based on additional results showed the Accord candidate maintaining a strong statewide position, while Oyebamiji continued to secure victories in some local government areas, keeping the race competitive despite Adeleke’s overall lead.

Adeleke’s strongest performances included several areas where he recorded sizeable margins over the APC candidate. In Ede North, for instance, the incumbent reportedly polled 35,427 votes against Oyebamiji’s 10,283 votes. In Ede South, Adeleke also recorded a commanding margin, while the two candidates remained competitive in other parts of the state.

Oyebamiji, however, has not been completely shut out of the contest. The APC candidate won some local government areas, including Atakumosa East, where he secured 9,936 votes against Adeleke’s 7,872 votes. He also defeated Adeleke in Obokun, according to the results reported from the local government, demonstrating that the APC candidate retained pockets of substantial support across the state.

The election was conducted across all 30 local government areas of Osun State, with INEC commencing the upload and collation of polling-unit results. Channels Television’s election tracker confirmed that the commission had begun the collation process following the August 15 poll, with results being progressively made available.

The emerging figures have heightened anticipation among supporters of both candidates, particularly because Adeleke’s current advantage does not by itself constitute an official declaration. Under Nigeria’s electoral process, the final winner will only be known after the completion of statutory collation and the formal declaration by the designated INEC Returning Officer.

Subsequent updates indicated that Adeleke’s lead continued to grow as more results were incorporated. Another aggregation covering 3,291 of the state’s 3,763 polling units put Adeleke on 452,072 votes against Oyebamiji’s 373,003, giving the incumbent a provisional margin of 79,069 votes. That aggregation also showed Adeleke leading in 23 of the 30 LGAs, although the figures remained subject to completion and official verification by INEC.

With the final results still being collated, attention is now firmly fixed on the Osun State collation centre in Osogbo. Until INEC completes the statutory process and formally announces the winner, Adeleke should be described as the leading candidate rather than the officially declared winner. The unfolding figures, however, place the Accord candidate in a strong position as Osun awaits the conclusion of one of Nigeria’s most closely watched off-cycle governorship elections.