By Kazeem Ugbodaga/Isa Isawade
Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party has significantly widened his lead over All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Bola Oyebamiji as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced results from 20 local government areas at the Osun State governorship election collation centre.
Based on the results provided from the 20 LGAs, Adeleke has accumulated 365,922 votes, while Oyebamiji has 287,695 votes, giving the incumbent governor a lead of 78,227 votes.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, is a distant third with 9,124 votes across the 20 local government areas.
Adeleke’s advantage has been driven by strong performances in several key LGAs, including Ede South, Osogbo, Ede North, Iwo and Ife East.
In Ede North, Adeleke recorded an emphatic 35,427 votes, compared with Oyebamiji’s 10,283, giving the Accord candidate a margin of 25,144 votes.
He also dominated Ede South, where he secured 26,188 votes against Oyebamiji’s 6,219, while in Osogbo, the governor polled 36,480 votes to the APC candidate’s 30,474.
In Iwo, Adeleke recorded 27,085 votes against Oyebamiji’s 19,660, while Ife East produced 27,201 votes for the governor and 18,600 for the APC candidate.
The governor also won Ife North, Boluwaduro, Ilesha West, Ifedayo, Ife Central, Orolu, Oriade, Odo Otin, Ifelodun and Atakumosa West.
Oyebamiji, however, has secured victories in several LGAs, demonstrating that the APC remains competitive in parts of the state.
The APC candidate won Ilesha East with 16,208 votes against Adeleke’s 12,280. He also prevailed in Boripe, polling 19,963 votes to the governor’s 12,448.
Oyebamiji further won Irepodun with 15,713 votes against 14,504, Obokun with 16,120 against 12,023, and Atakumosa West, where he scored 10,037 votes to Adeleke’s 7,479.
Despite those victories, Oyebamiji’s gains have not been enough to erase Adeleke’s substantial advantage, with the governor leading by more than 78,000 votes after the 20 LGAs represented in the announced results.
With 20 of Osun’s 30 LGAs now represented in the figures, results from the remaining 10 LGAs could still alter the final balance. However, Adeleke enters the next stage of collation with a sizeable numerical advantage.
