…With 105,083 Votes Over APC’s 73,007

…Accord defeats Omisore in his ward; Oyinlola too

…ADC in third position with 3,309 votes

As the results of the Osun state gubernatorial election trickle in on Saturday evening, Governor Ademola Adeleke of Accord Party, has been taking the lead with the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Oyebamiji, closing in, while the candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADC), Najeem Iwaloye, taking the third position.

The Accord Party secured victory at the polling unit of former Osun Deputy Governor and ex-National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Iyiola Omisore, as according to the results uploaded on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV), Accord polled 131 votes at Polling Unit 003, Ife Ward 1 (Moore), St. Gabriel Primary School, Ife East Local Government Area, while the APC garnered 85 votes to finish second. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) recorded 10 votes, while other parties secured marginal votes.

Similarly, the Accord Party won the governorship election at the polling unit of former Osun Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, in Okuku, Odo-Otin Local Government Area of the state.

According to the result sheet from the IReV portal, the Accord Party polled 125 votes to emerge victorious at the polling unit.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) came second with 85 votes, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) secured five votes.

This was in spite of Primce Oyinlola’s recent endorsement of the APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, over the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke.

The African Action Congress (AAC) scored two votes, while the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Young Progressive Party (YPP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) each recorded one vote.

At Unit 13, Ward 4, Osogbo local government area, Accord had 134 votes, while APC had 75 and other parties including ADC had one vote each.

In Unit 30, Ward 4, Osogbo local government area, Accord got 65, APC had 43 while, ADC had 2 and others grabbed 1 vote each.

At Oke Ola Orangun, Accord clinged 99 votes to beat APC with 84 votes and ADC having 3 votes only. APGA, AAC, ADP went home with 1 vote each.

However, in Ilesa East, the APC candidate beat the sitting governor with 88 votes to 51, while ADC had 5 votes and others scored zero.

In Ifedayo Ayetoro local government area, Accord scored 192 votes to beat the APC which got 186 votes. It was neck to neck at Oke Ola where Accord led the APC with just one vote. Accord had 113, APC had 112. ADC had only 1 vote while others scored zero.

In Obokun Local Government area, Accord garnered 211 votes to beat APC that got 178.

In Ife Central, Accord had 81 votes while APC had only 28 votes. In Ikire Ile/ Iwara, Accord got 109 votes while APC got 72 votes.

The provisional results so far gathered via the IREV indicated that Ademola Adeleke of the Accord has had 105,083 votes amounting to 55.1%. Bola Oyebamiji of the APC got 73,007 votes, amounting to 38.3%, while Najeem Salaam of the ADC polled 3,309 equivalent of 1.7%.

Adefemi Adesuyi of the ZLP got 1,876 amounting to 1.0%; Olanrewaju Farinloye of the AA polled 1,866 equivalent of 1.0%; Adesina Adeyemi-Doro of APGA garnered 1,591, equivalent of 0.8%.

Speaking after casting his vote in Ede, the governor, Ademola Adeleke, had earlier raised the alarm over presence of one Police officer, from Porthacourt, simply identified as London to disrupt voting in Ede, his country home.

He said, “As of now, voting is going well. However, I have received some information from my people in Osun State that there is a police officer called London from Port Harcourt who was brought to the state to destroy my town, Ede and disrupt the voting process.

“I am calling on the IGP and all security agencies to watch out for this police officer from Port Harcourt.

“I understand that the APC brought him to Osun State to carry out a hatchet job and cause disruption in my town, Ede, so that people will not be able to vote.

“I want the IGP, the Police Commissioner for the election, the DIG for the election, and all security agencies to take note and do the needful. I also urge all my people in Ede to be vigilant.

“I also have it on good authority that they do not want to follow the normal process of moving from the polling units to the wards and then to the local governments. Instead, they want to take the process straight to the collation centre.

“This is not acceptable. They must follow the rules, and that is why I am alerting my people to watch out”, Adeleke said.

Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dr Najeem Salaam, alleged manipulation of votes across political wards in the state.

“To him, most of his agents were not recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials who conducted the election.

Salaam said, “Even though we uploaded all the names of our party agents, especially here in Ejigbo, the agents in Ward 5 for the ADC were not given tags.

“The same thing happened in about 10 local governments across the state. I reported the matter to the relevant authorities, and they are looking into it.

“When the votes are being counted, my agents must be recognised at the polling units.

“Apart from that, in Ejigbo Local Government, the process has been going on without any crisis for now. I want to believe it will remain peaceful until the end of the exercise.

“As it stands, we cannot accept a situation where our party agents are not recognised. The importance of having party agents at the polling units cannot be overstated.

“All the names were uploaded onto the INEC platform, so I don’t understand why we are now being denied the opportunity to have our party agents present.

“Maybe towards the end of the election process, I will still address the press and let the people know how far we have gone with the matter. What I’m saying is part of the preparation on the side of INEC.

“When you requested that the parties upload the names of their agents, we did so. I don’t understand how or why the party agents would not be given tags.

“It is one part of the process. If, at the end of the day, we do not have this, then the process becomes very questionable. For now, I will remain silent on it until we get to the end of the whole exercise.

“If there is a fair election, with no rigging or manipulation, and there is a level playing field, I trust my God that I’m going to win the election.”

The spokesman of the ADC candidate, Abosede Busayo Oluwaseun, also alleged that the candidate of the party escaped an assassination attempt by suspected political thugs. In a statement, he said,

“Dr. Najeem Salaam, the ADC Governorship Candidate, escaped an alleged assassination attempt today at Ward 4, Unit 13, in Ejigbo Local Government Area of Osun State, shortly after casting his vote.

“According to eyewitness accounts, the incident was allegedly led by a suspected APC thug identified as “Big Hammer.” Dr. Salaam was swiftly whisked away by concerned locals who acted quickly to prevent the situation from escalating.

“Had it not been for the timely intervention and intelligence of residents at the scene, what happened today could have resulted in yet another tragic loss of life.

“The incident also reportedly disrupted voting and was accompanied by alleged electoral irregularities, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the voting process in the affected area.

“This is unacceptable. Democracy must never become a battlefield, and no Nigerian should have to risk their life simply for exercising their constitutional right to vote.

“We call on the security agencies and relevant authorities to immediately investigate this incident, identify those responsible, and ensure the safety of all voters, party agents and candidates.

“Dr. Najeem Salaam is alive. He remains resolute in his bid to rescue Osun from the shackles of bad governance”, the spokesperson said.

Voting was reportedly disrupted at the polling unit of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate, Dr Najeem Salaam, shortly after he cast his ballot in the ongoing governorship election.

The incident occurred at Polling Unit 13, Ward 4, Ejigbo, where hoodlums reportedly invaded the area, destroyed electoral materials belonging to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and caused voters to flee the polling unit for safety.

The disruption reportedly occurred shortly after Salaam cast his vote. He later alleged that the incident was a planned attack targeted at him, noting that the voting process had been peaceful before his arrival at the polling unit.

Speaking after the incident, Salaam said his strategic movement away from the area, alongside the intervention of his security personnel, prevented the alleged attackers from reaching him.

“There was a total disruption of the electoral process. The plan was to attack me. That was an attempt to attack me personally,” Salaam said, expressing concern over the safety of voters and the conduct of security personnel at the scene. He alleged that some elderly men and women were forced to run for their lives as the situation escalated.

He also claimed that some security officials merely watched as the incident unfolded, although he said one suspect had been arrested by security personnel.

Salaam condemned the development as a threat to democracy, saying the use of force and intimidation could undermine the credibility of the electoral process.

He vowed to pursue the matter, stressing that politicians should remember that political power is temporary and that the legacy left behind for future generations should be one of democratic participation rather than violence and intimidation.

Though the election as majorly free of crisis in many res monitored, there was a glitch in Ijebu-Jesa, in the Oriade Local Government Area of the State, where the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) failed to capture the faces of some elderly voters at Ward 3, Unit 6, Ijebu-Jesa, in Oriade Local Government Area of the state.

About six elderly voters were affected by the difficulty, forcing them to wait at the polling unit for another attempt at accreditation. The Presiding Officer, Ogunsakin Femi, told the affected voters to remain patient and retry the process later.

Meanwhile, one of the affected voters, 71-year-old Ajayi Omopariola, expressed dissatisfaction over the delay but said he was willing to wait to exercise his franchise. “I am not happy about the delay, but I am ready to wait until I am accredited and allowed to vote,” Ajayi said.

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