President Bola Tinubu congratulated Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, on his victory in the state’s 2026 governorship election, placing a call to the governor at about 2 a.m. on Sunday, even before the final results were formally declared.
Sources close to the president told our source that during the call, Tinubu told Adeleke that the people of Osun State had spoken through the ballot and that their mandate should be respected.
“The people of Osun have spoken. They have given you their mandate to govern them for another four years. Their will must prevail. I congratulate you and wish you well,” the president was quoted as saying.
Adeleke, the Accord Party candidate, defeated his closest challenger, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as 13 other candidates, to secure a second term in office.
The development came against the backdrop of Tinubu’s repeated calls for a free, fair and credible election in Osun State. On the eve of the election, the president urged residents to exercise their democratic rights without fear or hindrance and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure a transparent electoral process.
Tinubu also urged INEC to use the Osun election, the last major off-cycle governorship election before the 2027 general elections, to demonstrate its preparedness for next year’s polls.
Adeleke, in response, thanked the president for what he described as his leadership and commitment to the democratic process and the rule of law.
Western Post reports that Adeleke polled 511,067 votes across the 30 local government areas, while the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, scored 444,815 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dr Najeem Salaam, recorded 17,180 votes.
