Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has thanked President Bola Tinubu for congratulating him on his election victory, while expecting his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji, to also call and concede defeat.
Adeleke spoke on Sunday shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission declared him winner of the keenly contested August 15 governorship election.
The governor, who secured 511,067 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress candidate, Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes, said there was no victor or vanquished in the contest.
Asked if he would extend an olive branch to his co-contestants, Adeleke said he was ready to work with everyone but expected Oyebamiji to make the first congratulatory move.
“Yes. This is no victor, no vanquished. I want them to come over. I am expecting Oyebamiji to even, as a civilised person, to call me and congratulate me,” Adeleke said.
The governor also expressed appreciation to Tinubu, revealing that the President had personally called to congratulate him after his victory.
“And of course, I want to seize this opportunity to thank Mr. President. Mr. President has called me and he has congratulated me. And I thank you, Mr. President, for making sure democracy lives on, because you fought for it, Mr. President,” he said.
Adeleke was declared winner at about 7:24am on Sunday by the State Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti.
The result gave Adeleke victory in 19 of Osun’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11. The African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salam, came third with 17,180 votes.
The victory secured Adeleke another four-year term after he won the 2022 governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
He subsequently moved to the Accord Party to contest the 2026 election.
Despite the tight contest, Adeleke said he never seriously doubted his chances, attributing his confidence to his faith.
“No, no, no. You know, I have an answer to that. I have a God who never fails. I have a God who never fails. He never fails. Jesus never fails forevermore,” he said.
With the election now concluded, Adeleke’s call for reconciliation could set the tone for the next phase of Osun politics, even as attention remains on whether Oyebamiji will respond with the congratulatory call the governor says he is expecting.
