Osun State Governor, Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke, has received his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) om Wednesday, August 19 following his victory in the Saturday, August 15, 2026, governorship election.

The certificate was presented to Adeleke by the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, at about 1:30pm at the INEC headquarters in Osogbo.

The presentation came shortly after the commission presented a Certificate of Return to the state’s Deputy Governor, Prince Kola Adewusi.

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Adeleke, who contested the election on the platform of the Accord Party, defeated his closest challenger, Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), by 66,252 votes.

The governor polled 511,067 votes, while Oyebamiji secured 444,815 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, came third with 17,180 votes.

Adeleke won 19 of Osun State’s 30 Local Government Areas, while Oyebamiji secured victory in the remaining 11 LGAs.

Declaring the final result, the Returning Officer, Professor Ogunwole, said Adeleke satisfied the legal requirements to emerge as the winner of the election.

Speaking during the certificate presentation, Babalola said the exercise was carried out in accordance with the law governing INEC and formally confirmed the electoral mandate given to Adeleke and Adewusi by the people of Osun State.

The Osun REC commended stakeholders who contributed to the conduct of the election, including security agencies, non-governmental organisations, the media and traditional rulers.

She also praised voters for participating in the election, putting voter turnout at 43.2 per cent, and congratulated Adeleke while urging him to be magnanimous in victory.

The INEC National Supervising Commissioner for Osun State, Professor Kunle Ajayi, described the presentation of the certificates as a significant moment for democracy and the people of the state.

Ajayi congratulated Adeleke and commended Osun voters for participating in the election despite tensions and incidents of violence recorded before the poll.

He said the election demonstrated the resilience and determination of Osun residents, stressing that INEC’s mandate was to uphold democratic principles and not to support any particular candidate.

The national commissioner also commended security agencies for their sacrifices during the electoral process and praised party agents for their vigilance, saying their participation contributed to accountability and transparency during the election.

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