Osun 2026: How Adeleke Overcame APC’s Challenge to Win Second Term

Governor Ademola Adeleke has secured a second term as Osun State governor after defeating APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji in the 2026 governorship election.

The outcome was driven by a combination of Adeleke’s dominance in key strongholds, victories across 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas and large margins that proved too difficult for APC to erase.

The final results showed Accord, the platform on which Adeleke contested, winning 511,067 votes statewide.

Oyebamiji of the APC polled 444,815 votes, while ADC candidate Najeem Salaam finished third with 17,180 votes.

Adeleke therefore defeated his closest rival by 66,252 votes.

The ‘Bulldozer’ Who Backed His Words With Votes

Adeleke went into the election projecting confidence despite the political weight behind the APC campaign.

At the Arise Townhall Meeting days before the election, the governor boldly described himself as a “bulldozer”, insisting that he was not intimidated by the governors supporting Oyebamiji or what he called federal might.

“I am a bulldozer. I am talk and do. I am not afraid of federal might and governors backing the APC candidate. If they like, they should bring all the governors,” Adeleke said.

The statement became a central theme of his campaign, with Adeleke presenting the contest as a battle that would ultimately be decided by Osun voters rather than political influence from outside the state.

The election results suggest he succeeded in turning that confidence into votes.

The Real Story Was in the Margins

Adeleke’s victory cannot be explained by the number of LGAs he won alone.

While Accord secured 19 LGAs to APC’s 11, the crucial difference was the size of Adeleke’s victories in several of those councils.

Those margins created a lead that APC could not overcome despite winning some LGAs by substantial figures.

Ede Was the Biggest Game-Changer

The two Ede councils were particularly decisive.

Adeleke won Ede North with 35,427 votes, while Oyebamiji received 10,283.

That was a difference of 25,144 votes in Adeleke’s favour.

In Ede South, Accord again dominated, scoring 26,188 votes against APC’s 6,219. The governor gained another 19,969 votes over his opponent there.

Together, Ede North and Ede South produced 61,615 votes for Adeleke, compared with 16,502 for Oyebamiji.

The combined margin was therefore 45,113 votes — an enormous advantage in an election ultimately decided by a statewide difference of 66,252 votes.

Osogbo Keeps Adeleke Ahead

Adeleke also secured an important victory in Osogbo, the state capital.

Accord polled 36,480 votes, while APC recorded 30,474, giving Adeleke a 6,006-vote advantage.

The result was significant because APC also had a substantial presence in the capital, yet Adeleke managed to maintain an edge.

ADC recorded 1,503 votes in Osogbo, its strongest result among the supplied figures.

The Ife Axis Also Worked in Adeleke’s Favour

Adeleke’s performance across the Ife area further widened his lead.

In Ife East, Accord secured 27,201 votes, compared with APC’s 18,600 — an 8,601-vote margin.

In Ife Central, Adeleke recorded 21,171 votes against Oyebamiji’s 15,913, giving Accord another 5,258-vote advantage.

Adeleke also won Ife North, where he polled 13,879 votes against APC’s 9,613, a margin of 4,266 votes.

APC managed to claim Ife South, where it scored 14,678 votes against Accord’s 13,507.

But across the four Ife councils, Accord still accumulated 75,758 votes, compared with APC’s 58,804.

That gave Adeleke a combined 16,954-vote advantage in the Ife axis.

More Strongholds Push Adeleke Further Ahead

Adeleke’s advantage was reinforced by victories in other key councils.

In Egbedore, Accord won with 19,278 votes against APC’s 11,194, a margin of 8,084 votes.

In Iwo, Adeleke secured 27,085 votes, compared with Oyebamiji’s 19,660, giving him a 7,425-vote advantage.

The governor also won Oriade, where Accord recorded 21,343 votes against APC’s 14,863, a margin of 6,480 votes.

These results ensured that APC had an increasingly difficult task trying to close the statewide gap.

Oyebamiji Still Put Up a Strong Fight

The election was not a complete walkover for Adeleke.

APC won 11 of the 30 LGAs, confirming that Oyebamiji remained a formidable challenger.

One of APC’s strongest results came in Irewole, where Oyebamiji secured 29,972 votes, against Accord’s 10,934.

That produced a 19,038-vote advantage for APC.

The party also won Boripe, polling 19,963 votes against Accord’s 12,448, a margin of 7,515 votes.

Other APC victories came in Olorunda, Ilesa East, Ife South, Ola-Oluwa, Isokan, Obokun, Atakumosa West and Atakumosa East.

But APC’s problem was not the absence of victories. It was the fact that its gains were not large enough to offset Adeleke’s even bigger margins in key Accord strongholds.

Ede Alone Shows Why Adeleke Won

The mathematics of the election becomes clearer when the major margins are compared.

APC’s 19,038-vote advantage in Irewole was one of its strongest performances.

Yet Adeleke’s combined advantage of 45,113 votes in Ede North and Ede South was more than twice that figure.

That was the basic arithmetic of the election.

APC won some areas decisively.

Adeleke won some areas even more decisively.

When the votes were aggregated across the state, Adeleke emerged with the larger total.

ADC Could Not Break the Two-Party Dominance

Although 13 candidates contested the election, the final results showed a contest overwhelmingly dominated by Accord and APC.

The two parties jointly recorded 955,882 votes, while ADC finished with 17,180.

ADC’s strongest showing among the supplied results came in Ejigbo, where it secured 5,053 votes.

The party also recorded 1,503 votes in Osogbo, 935 in Ife East, 747 in Ife Central, and 673 each in Ifedayo and Ilesa West.

Its overall performance, however, was not enough to threaten either of the two leading candidates.

Adeleke’s Victory Was Geographically Broad

Another factor that worked in Adeleke’s favour was the spread of his victories.

Rather than relying solely on one political bloc, he won LGAs across different parts of the state.

That geographical spread gave him a broad electoral base and allowed his campaign to combine massive margins in some areas with competitive results elsewhere.

This proved crucial because APC’s strongholds could not compensate for the enormous margins Adeleke was accumulating in his own areas.

The Final Numbers

At the end of the collation, the figures were clear:

• Accord — 511,067 votes
• APC — 444,815 votes
• ADC — 17,180 votes
• Adeleke’s lead over APC — 66,252 votes

Adeleke’s victory was therefore not simply a matter of winning more local governments.

It was about winning the right places and, more importantly, winning them by margins large enough to shape the statewide result.

Ede North and Ede South provided the biggest cushion. Osogbo added to the advantage, while the Ife axis, Egbedore, Iwo, Oriade and other victories kept APC from making up the difference.

Before the election, Adeleke had declared: “I am a bulldozer.”

After the votes were counted, the numbers showed the scale of the political machinery he had built within Osun.

Adeleke won 19 LGAs, polled 511,067 votes and defeated APC by 66,252 votes, securing his second term as governor of Osun State.

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