Adeleke Backs Tinubu for Second Term Hours After Osun Election Victory

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has reaffirmed his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to secure a second term in office in the 2027 presidential election.

The governor made the declaration in his victory speech following his re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.

Adeleke expressed appreciation to Tinubu for what he described as the President’s support for a free and fair electoral process, while restating his earlier endorsement of the President’s 2027 presidential bid.

“At this point, I must deeply appreciate Mr President, His Excellency, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his strong support for a free and fair election. Mr President is a son of Osun State, and I hereby reaffirm my earlier endorsement of him for a second term in the 2027 presidential election,” Adeleke said.

The governor had previously endorsed Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election despite his political differences with the President and his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Adeleke later defected from the PDP to the Accord Party ahead of the Osun governorship election but maintained his support for Tinubu’s second-term ambition.

His latest declaration came shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced him as the winner of Saturday’s governorship election.

The Returning Officer, Professor Joshua Olalekan Ogunwole, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, declared Adeleke the winner in the early hours of Sunday after the collation of results from the state’s 30 local government areas.

Adeleke polled 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who secured 444,815 votes.

Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) came third with 17,180 votes.

A total of 15 political parties contested the election, with Adeleke winning in 19 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won in 11. The final result gave Adeleke a winning margin of 66,252 votes.

Speaking shortly after his declaration, Adeleke described the outcome as a victory for democracy and a reward from the people of Osun State for the performance of his administration.

He thanked the people of the state for their support, saying the result showed that voters appreciated his administration’s efforts in areas including infrastructure, healthcare and security.

The governor also revealed that Tinubu had personally called to congratulate him on his victory.

Adeleke thanked the President for what he described as his role in ensuring that democracy prevailed in the election, particularly Tinubu’s earlier directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to unfreeze the Osun State Government’s account before the poll.

Accord Party chieftain Pelumi Olajengbesi had earlier disclosed at the INEC collation centre in Osogbo that Tinubu called Adeleke even before the final result was formally announced.

Olajengbesi described the President’s action as a demonstration of good leadership, although he raised concerns over alleged intimidation and arrests of opposition supporters during the election.

The INEC figures showed that the state had 2,339,544 registered voters, while 1,010,684 were accredited for the election. A total of 1,005,800 ballots were cast, with 985,097 recorded as valid votes and 20,721 rejected.