Former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, has suffered a major political setback at his own polling unit in Okuku, Odo-Otin Local Government Area, as the Accord Party defeated the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the ongoing governorship election.
The development comes barely a week after Oyinlola, alongside other prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains, publicly declared support for the APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
Despite the former governor’s endorsement and political weight, the APC could only manage second place at the polling unit.
Results uploaded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s IReV portal showed **Accord winning with 125 votes**, while **APC polled 85 votes**.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) recorded five votes, while the African Action Congress (AAC) secured two votes.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP), Young Progressive Party (YPP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) each scored one vote.
The result is already generating political interest, particularly because the polling unit is associated with a former governor who only days earlier publicly backed the APC candidate.
Oyinlola’s endorsement was expected to strengthen the APC’s standing among his political supporters and in his immediate political base. The result, however, suggests that translating elite endorsements into actual votes at the grassroots may prove more difficult than anticipated.
The outcome also raises questions about the extent of Oyinlola’s current influence in his traditional political stronghold and whether his decision to move behind the APC has been embraced by voters in his immediate constituency.
For the APC, the defeat at a polling unit linked to a former governor who recently joined its campaign represents an uncomfortable result and a potential warning about the gap between political endorsements and voter behaviour.
With results from other polling units still being collated, attention will now turn to whether the APC can recover ground elsewhere in Odo-Otin and across Osun State.
