By Dele Moses
People of Osun State have reelected Governor Ademola Adeleke for a second term of office.
Adeleke who is the incumbent governor of the state was reelected at the poll conducted on Saturday across the 30 local government areas of the state.
The result of the election announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) shows that Adeleke of the Accord Party leads in the election while the governorship candidates of All Progressives Congress, (APC) Bola Oyebamiji and African Democratic Congress (ADC) Najeem Salam, his two major opponents, trail behind.
The Returning Officer, Joshua Olalekan Ogunwole, who announced the result said that Adeleke polled 511, 067 votes while Oyebamiji scored 444, 815 and Salam, 17, 180 votes.
With Adeleke winng the highest number of valid votes cast and meeting the requirement of 25 per cent vote in at least two thirds of the local government areas of the state, Ogunwole declared him winner of the election and returned him elected.
A breakdown of the result shows that Adeleke won in 19 local government areas while Oyebamiji won in 11.
Adeleke with over 500, 000 votes, won in this election more votes than the people of the state gave him in the last election which was less than 500 000.
His closest rival in this election, Oyebami of the APC, with over 400, 000 also garnered more votes than that of the closest rival in the last election, Gboyega Oyetola also of the APC, which was less than 400 000.
However, Adeleke beat his closest rival in this election with wider margin of over 60, 000 votes than he did in the last election where the margin was less than 40, 000.
Adeleke who won the previous election in 2022 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and this one on the platform of the Accord would be second governor of the state to be elected for a second term of office after Rauf Aregbesola who was the first as Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola who would have been the first had his second term victory nullified by the court
