Why APC’s heavyweight deployment failed to halt Adeleke’s victory

Governor Ademola Adeleke has secured a stunning re-election victory in Osun State, defeating the APC’s heavyweight machinery to retain his seat under the Accord Party banner with 511,067 votes — representing 50.8 per cent — against APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji’s 444,815 votes.

As reported by Daily Post, INEC State Returning Officer Prof. Joshua Ogunwole declared Adeleke winner after he swept 19 of Osun’s 30 local government areas. Total voter turnout was 43 per cent from 2,339,233 registered voters.

The victory is remarkable on multiple fronts — Adeleke defected from the PDP to the Accord Party in December 2025 following internal party crises, making his win on a third-party platform against Nigeria’s ruling party one of the country’s most significant recent electoral upsets. The APC had held power in Osun for 12 consecutive years from 2010 to 2022 before Adeleke’s first victory.