By Our Correspondents
The victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke in the Saturday, August 15 governorship election has continued to elicit jubilation not just in the state, but across the country as well as exchange of brickbats and new permutations for the over 1 million votes recorded in the election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke, the Accord Party candidate, the winner of the election after he polled 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who scored 444,815 votes.
Police caution on “wild jubilation”
As residents jubilate, the Osun State Police Command in what seems a pattern targeted at Accord Party members urged them to celebrate moderately.
The Command acknowledged that “every citizen has the legitimate right to celebrate the outcome of the election and express joy in a peaceful manner. However, such celebrations must be conducted within the bounds of the law and must not constitute a threat to public safety, security, lives or property.
“The Commissioner of Police (Election), CP Samuel Erale Etaifo, psc, mnips, therefore urges supporters of all political parties, especially those celebrating victory, to exercise restraint and avoid actions capable of causing injury, destruction of property, obstruction of traffic, harassment of other citizens, or confrontation with persons holding opposing views.
“The Command particularly warns against reckless driving, shooting of firearms or fireworks, brandishing of dangerous weapons, destruction of public or private property, violent street processions, and any form of provocation or attack on political opponents.
“Parents, guardians, political leaders, religious leaders, community leaders and other stakeholders are equally enjoined to caution their followers and ensure that celebrations remain peaceful and orderly.”
Keyamo stirs hornets’ nest
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, stirred the hornets’ nest while congratulating Adeleke on his re-election, said, “Agreement is agreement.”
Keyamo wrote, “Thank you, Governor Ademola Adeleke, for the public and unequivocal endorsement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu @officialABAT for the 2027 Presidential Election. You are a man of integrity and honour. ‘Agreement is agreement.’”
The Imole Campaign Council of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, fired back, denying any political agreement behind the governor’s support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
The council said Adeleke’s support for Tinubu was based on the President’s performance and reforms, rather than a pre-arranged political deal.
The council’s spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, said this in a post on his X handle on Sunday.
Quoting Keyamo’s post on X, Olajengbesi said the comment should not undermine the choice made by Osun voters in the August 15 governorship election.
“Do not undermine the resilience of Osun people. There is no agreement,” he said.
He added, “Our support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, @officialABAT, is based on his performance and reforms that have strengthened states economically.”
Olajengbesi said Adeleke’s victory was a product of the voters’ decision and maintained that Tinubu only ensured that the democratic process was respected.
Keyamo’s comment followed Adeleke’s endorsement, with the minister describing the governor as a “man of integrity and honour” and referring to an “agreement” between the two politicians.
Yiaga urges BVAS audit, praises voters’ vigilance
Election observer group, Yiaga Africa, has said voters’ vigilance in Osun State was the most effective deterrent to result manipulation in Saturday’s governorship election.
The group noted that citizens stayed back at polling units and followed results to ward and local government area collation centres to ensure that the figures announced were not altered.
The civil society organisation described the just-concluded governorship election as a significant demonstration of how technology, citizen vigilance and institutional preparedness could strengthen electoral integrity.
Yiaga Africa, in its Process and Results Verification for Transparency, PRVT, statement on the election released on Sunday in Osogbo, said its statistical estimates closely matched the official results announced by the electoral commission, indicating that the figures declared at the state collation centre reflected the votes counted at polling units.
The Chairperson of the Osun Election Observation Mission of Yiaga Africa, Dr Asmau Maikudi, who read the statement, said the group deployed 300 observers and 32 mobile observers across the 30 LGAs and based its findings on reports from 289 of the 300 sampled polling units.
Maikudi also said the August 15 poll was a defining test of the Electoral Act 2026 and showed that when institutions, technology and citizens worked together, credible outcomes were possible.
“The resilience of voters in Osun was the quiet achievement of the August 15th elections. Citizens went to the polls in an environment shaped by the attack on PVC collection centres, politically linked violence, contestation over motor parks, and weeks of inflammatory rhetoric, conditions that Yiaga Africa warned could suppress voter participation.
“Despite this tension, voters came out regardless. The turnout of 43% achieved under that apprehension is not a story of apathy but of citizens who refused to be intimidated out of the process.
“Voters also did not stop at casting the ballot. In line with Yiaga Africa’s pre-election Protect Your Vote campaign, they stayed back at polling units to witness the sorting, counting and announcement of results, and followed those results to ward and LGA collation centres to see them entered and declared. That vigilance is the most effective deterrent to result manipulation,” Yiaga Africa said.
The group also reported high transparency at the counting stage, with 99 per cent of polling units showing how ballots were marked, 91 per cent posting results publicly and 85 per cent transmitting EC8A forms to IReV.
Yiaga recommended binding INEC guidance on downloadable PVCs, a technical audit of BVAS, publication of the causes of biometric failures, better training for ad hoc staff and stronger enforcement against vote buying by security agencies, the EFCC and ICPC ahead of the 2027 elections.
