….The Osun governor defeats APC’s Bola Oyebamiji by 66,252 votes as he promises to expand development and govern for all residents.Governor Ademola Adeleke has won a second term in office after defeating his closest challenger, All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Bola Oyebamiji, in Saturday’s Osun governorship election.

Adeleke, who contested under the Accord Party, secured 511,067 votes, while Oyebamiji polled 444,815 votes, according to results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The governor won by 66,252 votes, taking 19 of Osun’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11.

The result gives Adeleke another four-year mandate after he won the 2022 election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

This time, he secured re-election on the Accord Party platform after leaving the PDP.

Adeleke calls victory a win for democracy

Speaking after his victory was declared, Adeleke described the result as a victory for democracy and thanked Osun voters for backing his administration.

“First of all, I thank God Almighty for what has happened today.”

He said the result represented the people’s endorsement of his record in office.

“It’s a victory for democracy. A victory for Osun people that stood by me. That said, Imole, you have done a lot for us. You have given us the dividend of democracy.”

Adeleke cited infrastructure, education and agriculture as areas where he believed his administration had delivered.

The claims reflect the governor’s assessment of his record and should be distinguished from independently measured evidence of performance.

Governor promises industrialisation

Adeleke said his priority for his second term would be to move Osun away from its traditional dependence on the public sector.

“My vision is to make sure Osun State moves from civil service state to industrial state.”

He also promised to expand development across the state.

“And make sure all across Osun State, development is on.”

The promise will place pressure on the administration to demonstrate measurable progress in areas such as industrial investment, employment, infrastructure and internally generated revenue during the next four years.

Osun has historically depended heavily on federal allocations and public-sector activity, making diversification of the state’s economy a significant policy challenge.

Adeleke reaffirms support for Tinubu in 2027

One of the most politically significant parts of Adeleke’s victory speech was his renewed endorsement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term in the 2027 presidential election.

Tinubu belongs to the APC, while Adeleke contested the Osun election under the Accord Party.

Adeleke thanked the president for what he described as support for a free and fair election.

“At this point, I must deeply appreciate Mr. President, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his strong support for a free and fair election.”

He then reaffirmed his earlier support for Tinubu’s 2027 bid.

“Mr. President is a son of Osun State, and I hereby reaffirm my earlier endorsement of him for a second time in the 2027 presidential election.”

Adeleke’s endorsement is politically significant because it crosses party lines and comes after a governorship contest in which his Accord Party defeated the APC candidate.

The governor had previously expressed support for Tinubu’s re-election bid. His latest statement confirms that the position remains unchanged after the Osun poll.

‘There is no victor, no vanquished’

Adeleke also sought to lower the political temperature following a closely contested election.

He extended an olive branch to his opponents and said he would govern beyond party lines.

“In this race, there is no victor, no vanquished. I extend my olive branch to my co-contestants. I am the governor of all Osun State people.”

His comments come after a campaign marked by intense competition between the Accord Party and APC.

Adeleke later said he expected Oyebamiji to congratulate him.

“I’m expecting Oyebamiji as a civilised person to call me and congratulate me.”

Oyebamiji had not publicly accepted the result in the portion of the governor’s speech provided for this report.

A much closer race than the headline suggests

Although Adeleke won by more than 66,000 votes, the election was competitive.

Oyebamiji won 11 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Adeleke secured 19.

The result also represents a change in Adeleke’s political platform from his 2022 victory.

In 2022, he won under the PDP with 403,371 votes, defeating then-incumbent Gboyega Oyetola of the APC, who scored 375,027 votes.

Adeleke’s 2026 vote total is therefore substantially higher than his 2022 figure, while his latest victory comes from a different party platform.

The movement also gives Adeleke a stronger mandate to pursue the economic transformation he has promised, although the scale of that mandate will ultimately be measured by what his government delivers during the next four years.

What Adeleke has promised

The governor’s victory speech contained three broad commitments.

First, he promised to expand development and improve governance across Osun.

Second, he pledged to pursue the transformation of Osun from a civil-service-dependent economy into an industrial state and investment destination.

Third, he presented himself as governor for the entire state rather than only those who supported him.

“I am the governor of all Osun State people.”

Those commitments will now move from campaign rhetoric to government policy.

The administration will face questions over how it intends to attract investors, create jobs, improve infrastructure and generate sustainable revenue without placing additional pressure on residents.

The election and its wider political significance

Adeleke’s victory also has implications beyond Osun.

The governor’s endorsement of Tinubu creates an unusual political alignment between an Accord Party governor and an APC president ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Tinubu’s political strength in Osun and the wider South-West will be closely watched as parties prepare for the next general election.

For Adeleke, however, the immediate challenge is different: converting an electoral victory into measurable improvements in the lives of Osun residents.

What happens next?

With INEC’s declaration complete, attention now turns to the transition into Adeleke’s second term and the implementation of his promised economic agenda.

The governor has promised to expand development and move Osun towards industrialisation.

He has also called for unity after the election.

Whether those promises translate into more investment, jobs, infrastructure and improved public services will provide the clearest measure of his second-term performance.

For now, Adeleke has secured another four years.

The voters have delivered the mandate. The next test is what his government does with it.

….The Election Observation Hub says voting was largely peaceful and inclusive, but reports vote trading, ballot exposure, voter intimidation and delays at some polling units.

The European Union-backed Election Observation Hub has reported 323 cases of electoral offences and irregularities in the first part of Saturday’s Osun governorship election, including 103 cases of alleged vote trading and 85 incidents involving exposure of ballot papers.

The Hub, which deployed observers across the state, said the figures came from 726 polling units monitored as of 12 noon.

It also reported 38 security incidents, including alleged thuggery, attacks on election officials and voter intimidation.

The findings provide an early picture of an election that observers described as largely peaceful and orderly, but with significant concerns over vote buying, election technology and the conduct of some voters, party agents and security personnel.

BVAS problems and late opening

The observers found that election materials were available at 608, or 83.7%, of the polling units observed between 07:30 and 08:00.

Another 75 polling units opened between 08:00 and 08:30, while 42 began between 08:30 and 11:00.

One polling unit had still not opened by 11:00 because election personnel and materials had not arrived.

The Hub also recorded 58 BVAS malfunctions, representing 7.9% of the 726 polling units observed.

It said 41 of the affected devices, or 70.7%, were eventually fixed and accreditation resumed.

The finding is significant because INEC had previously presented the BVAS as a key safeguard for voter accreditation. During preparations for the election, the commission said a mock accreditation exercise was intended to identify and resolve possible technical problems before election day.

Independent reports from polling units on Saturday have also recorded BVAS-related delays in parts of Irepodun, Olorunda and Ede local government areas.

The Hub is therefore calling on INEC to deploy RATECH teams and backup BVAS devices to polling units where machines fail.

Vote trading remains a major concern

Of the 323 electoral offences and irregularities recorded by the observers, the largest category listed was vote trading, with 103 cases.

The Hub also recorded 85 cases involving exposure of ballot papers, 38 cases of campaigning at polling units, 31 cases of obstruction of voters and 28 cases involving alleged inducement of polling and security officials.

It recorded smaller numbers involving multiple voting, voter impersonation and misconduct by election officials.

Vote trading has remained a recurring concern in Nigeria’s recent off-cycle elections. Observer groups raised similar concerns during the 2026 Ekiti governorship election, despite reporting improvements in some aspects of election administration.

Security incidents reported

The Hub said it observed an average of three security personnel at polling units.

It praised the professional conduct of most officers but reported cases of alleged voter intimidation by security agents at polling units in Ejigbo and Osogbo.

The reports come against a background of heightened security concerns before the Osun poll. INEC had identified 385 potential flashpoints and 200 difficult terrains across the state during its election preparations.

The Nigeria Police Force also deployed a Deputy Inspector-General of Police to coordinate election security operations in the state.

The police had separately warned against violence and barred Amotekun and other non-state security groups from participating in election security operations.

Women and people with disabilities participate

The observation report also recorded relatively strong participation by women and people with disabilities.

Women accounted for about 59% of voters in the polling units observed, while more than 70% of voters turned out in the 12 polling units specifically designated for people with disabilities.

Women also represented 36% of polling officials in the units observed.

The findings suggest that accessibility and participation were not major obstacles in most of the polling units monitored, although the Hub has urged INEC to ensure that priority voting and assistive devices remain available for elderly, pregnant and disabled voters.

A more engaged electorate?

The Hub described voter turnout as impressive and said voters were generally peaceful and orderly.

That assessment is notable because turnout has historically been a challenge in Osun elections.

In the 2022 governorship election, about 804,450 people voted out of 1.95 million registered voters, giving a turnout of roughly 42.4%, according to an election report.

However, Saturday’s observation cannot yet establish whether final turnout will be higher because voting was still underway when the Hub released its midday assessment.

INEC had put the number of registered voters for the 2026 election at 2,339,233, spread across 3,763 polling units in the state’s 30 local government areas.

Why the findings matter

For voters, the biggest immediate concern is whether technical and logistical problems prevent anyone from exercising their franchise.

For political parties and candidates, the allegations of vote trading, intimidation and other offences could affect perceptions of the credibility of the election.

For INEC, the BVAS failures and delayed opening of some polling units will test whether its election-day contingency arrangements work as promised.

The election also carries significance beyond Osun. The Hub has described the poll as a test of Nigeria’s electoral framework and a potential indicator ahead of the 2027 general election.

The observer coalition had already called before the election for timely deployment of materials, functioning BVAS devices, transparent results management and effective security responses.

What happens next?

The Hub says its observers will remain at polling units and then move to collation centres to monitor counting, collation and transmission of results.

It has urged political parties and candidates to await INEC’s official declaration and take any grievances through the courts rather than resorting to protests or violence.

It has also asked the media not to publish unofficial or projected results before INEC makes the appropriate declarations.

The Hub says it will publish a post-election report examining the overall conduct, credibility and outcome of the election.

For now, the picture from its observers is mixed: strong voter participation and generally peaceful polling, but persistent concerns about vote trading, ballot secrecy, security conduct, BVAS failures and election-day logistics.

….Kimpact Development Initiative says most polling units opened on time, but technical problems, alleged interference and voter inducement remain concerns as voting continues.

The Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) has reported BVAS failures, alleged vote trading and three violence-related incidents in the early hours of the Osun governorship election.

In its preliminary Election Day Data Report (EDDR), based on information available by 12:00pm on Saturday, KDI said the incidents had not yet established a wider pattern of election-day violence.

The organisation cautioned, however, that the relatively low number of reported violent incidents should not be taken to mean that security risks have disappeared.

Most polling units opened before 8:45am

KDI said 79.3% of its polling observations recorded voting operations starting before 8:45am.

Another 19.8% started between 8:45am and 9:59am, while 0.9% began at 10am or later.

The figures suggest that most polling units began operating within the expected early-morning period, although the experience varied across the state.

KDI said delays were concentrated in some local government areas and could create pressure later in the day through longer queues, congestion or extended voting.

BVAS works in most cases, but failures remain

The biggest operational concern in the report was the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

KDI recorded an 84.7% success rate among accreditation attempts captured by its monitoring system, leaving a reported 15.3% failure rate.

The organisation said accreditation times also varied between polling locations. While some voters were accredited within one to two minutes, others experienced longer processing times.

KDI identified Ifedayo, Ife North, Osogbo, Ayedaade, Irepodun, Iwo and Egbedore as areas with the highest number of reported BVAS failure observations at the time of its assessment.

The figures matter because BVAS is central to voter accreditation. A malfunctioning device can slow voting and, where queues become long, potentially discourage some voters from remaining at polling units.

INEC has used BVAS in Osun since the 2022 governorship election and has repeatedly said it would improve the technology based on lessons from earlier elections.

The commission’s own 2023 election review identified staff training, proper device configuration and integrity testing as important lessons from the technology’s deployment.

For the 2026 election, INEC said it configured 4,427 BVAS devices, including 664 backup units, for the state.

That preparation makes the KDI failure figures an issue to watch as voting and accreditation continue.

Vote-trading reports emerge

KDI also recorded 19 reports of vote trading from 2,127 reports received by the time of its assessment.

That represents about 0.9% of the reports in the dataset.

The organisation said the reported incidents were geographically concentrated, with Odo-Otin recording the highest number, followed by Irepodun, Ife North and Osogbo.

It said reported actors included party supporters, party agents and community leaders, although some reports identified more than one actor.

KDI said it would continue examining whether the reported inducement was linked to intimidation, political interference or other actions that could undermine voters’ freedom to make their own choices.

The concern is not entirely new.

Yiaga Africa warned before the election that voter inducement and political violence could undermine the credibility of the Osun poll. The organisation also reported allegations of cash transfers to prospective voters during the pre-election period. Those were allegations from its observers, not established findings of criminal liability.

Three violence-related reports by noon

KDI said its observers had received three violence-related reports by noon.

The incidents included an alleged disruption at Ife East, Modakeke Ward 3, where political thugs were reportedly said to have chased voters away and taken election materials.

At Ejigbo LGA, Ward 4, Unit 13, KDI reported another alleged disruption involving political thugs.

The organisation also reported an allegation that police officers invaded a Registration Area Centre in Ife East and fired tear gas while election materials were being distributed. KDI said the materials were allegedly taken away.

At Ilesa West LGA, Ward 8, Unit 7, it reported that political thugs allegedly disrupted voting and chased voters away.

These accounts remain allegations contained in KDI’s preliminary monitoring data.

Early election-day picture differs from pre-election violence

The three violence reports recorded by noon stand against a much larger number of incidents recorded during the months before the election.

KDI said its pre-election monitoring recorded 81 election-related violence incidents resulting in 15 fatalities between October 2025 and August 2026.

The organisation described the smaller number of election-day violence reports available by noon as encouraging, but warned against drawing broader conclusions from only the first few hours of voting.

Its concern now shifts to whether security agencies remain professional, proportionate and non-interfering as voting moves towards counting and collation.

That question is significant because election observers and civil society groups had repeatedly raised concerns about security neutrality before the poll.

In July, INEC said security personnel deployed for the Osun election would take an oath of neutrality.

The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, also met Governor Ademola Adeleke and other stakeholders in July as part of efforts to address concerns about political violence before the election.

Why the findings matter

The KDI assessment provides an early snapshot rather than a verdict on the election.

Its BVAS figures raise questions about whether technical problems could become more significant as voter numbers increase at polling units.

Its vote-trading reports raise a different concern: whether financial or other inducements could affect voters’ ability to make independent choices.

The security reports also show why the conduct of security agencies will remain important during counting and collation.

Osun’s electoral history gives these concerns added weight.

In the 2022 governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Peoples Democratic Party candidate Ademola Adeleke the winner with 403,371 votes, ahead of All Progressives Congress candidate Gboyega Oyetola, who received 375,027 votes. Adeleke won 17 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyetola won 13.

The narrow margin between the leading candidates in 2022 means that the integrity of accreditation, voting, counting and collation remains important to public confidence in the eventual result.

BVAS itself is now a familiar part of Nigeria’s electoral system. INEC first deployed the technology in state-wide governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun in 2022, after earlier pilot deployments. The Electoral Act 2022 subsequently provided a legal framework for INEC to use technological devices in aspects of accreditation and electronic transmission of results.

What happens next?

KDI said its observers would continue monitoring the election through the close of polls, counting, completion and handling of result forms, electronic results management and collation.

The organisation said it would issue a fuller end-of-day assessment after verifying the relevant data.

That later assessment will be important because the noon report cannot determine whether the incidents recorded so far are isolated events or signs of wider operational and security problems.

For voters, the immediate priority is to complete the process peacefully and allow election officials to count and collate results without intimidation or interference.

KDI said it remained committed to providing impartial, evidence-based information and called on stakeholders to protect voters’ rights and allow the remaining stages of the election to proceed without violence or undue interference.