The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has conducted governorship election in Osun state, amid complaints of irregularities.
The election was held in 3,763 polling units across the state’s 30 local government areas.
A total of 2,339,233 eligible voters participated in the polls contested by 15 candidates of different political parties.
The candidates include Accord Party (A): Ademola Adeleke; Action Alliance (AC): Farinloye Olarenwaju; African Action Congress (AAC): Esan Olajide; African Democratic Congress (ADC): Najeem Salam; African Democratic Party (ADP): Adeagbo Opawoye; All Progressives Congress (APC): Bola Oyebamiji; All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA): Adesina Adeyemi-Doro, and Allied People Movement (APM): Adewale Adebayo, among others.
The election was fiercely contested among the candidates of the Accord Party, incumbent Governor Adeleke, Oyebamiji of the APC, and ADC’s Najeem Salam.
Fields reports indicated that the exercise was marred by irregularities, violence, and operational challenges.
For instance, Governor Adeleke raised the alarm over alleged intimidation of voters by the police and the APC.
“I have received reports on authority, information that there is one police officer who was deployed to come and do a hatchet job in Osun from Port Harcourt. They call him by his nickname, London. He is here in Ede hiding. His own job is to come and destroy Ede, and then scare people, shooting so that they will not vote.
“So, I am calling on the Inspector General of Police to take note. I am calling on the security agencies to take note. They should deploy him,” Adeleke stated.
Similarly, the ADC governorship candidate, Salaam, expressed concern over the alleged denial of accreditation to ADC party agents in some polling units.
According to Salaam, the agents’ names were duly uploaded, but he claimed that the repeated denial of their accreditation amounted to a failure by INEC.
“When you requested the party to upload their party agent, and we did, I don’t understand how and why the party agent will not be given a tag.
“So if at the end of the day we do not have this, then the process is very questionable.”
Vote buying is out of it. I have never in my life bought votes,” he added.
However, the APC governorship candidate, Oyebamiji, commended INEC and security operatives for their efforts towards ensuring a smooth and peaceful exercise.
“So far, my assessment is that everything is going peacefully, especially this unit. The election is going peacefully; INEC is doing their job; at the same time, the security people are in charge,” he said.
Results of the election were still being collated as of press time.
Outside Osun, most political parties have uploaded lists of their governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates for the forthcoming 2027 general election to the INEC portal.
INEC extended the deadline for political parties to submit lists of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates from 8 August to 11 August 2026.
According to an INEC official who preferred anonymity, some of the parties used the extension to complete the exercise.
