Osun guber: APC rejects Adeleke’s victory, begins audit of INEC results

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke and Director-General of Osun governorship campaign, Oluwole Oke

Osun guber: APC rejects Adeleke’s victory, begins audit of INEC results

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the result of the August 15 Osun State governorship election, insisting that Governor Ademola Adeleke did not secure the highest number of valid votes cast in the poll.

The APC’s position was disclosed by the Director-General of its Osun governorship campaign, Oluwole Oke, who said the party would not congratulate Adeleke until it completed its review of the election results and other relevant materials.

Speaking during an interview with Arise News on Monday, Oke said the APC disagreed with the declaration of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and had commenced an audit of the election to determine its next step.

“We do not agree with the declaration of INEC. That’s our position for now. We believe he did not score the highest valid votes,” Oke said.

The APC campaign chief said the party would not be pressured into accepting the outcome before completing its assessment of the election process.

According to him, the review is intended to establish the party’s position based on the available election documents rather than on political pressure or the declaration already made by INEC.

“And like I’ve told you that what we are doing, even for future, for records, is to conduct a thorough review of the entire process and then form our opinion.

“We won’t be under any sort of pressure to easily reach out to congratulate Senator Ademola Adeleke,” Oke added. (Arise News)

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INEC declared Ademola Adeleke, the candidate of the Accord Party, winner of the 2026 Osun governorship election after he polled 511,067 votes.

The APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, came second with 444,815 votes, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, secured 17,180 votes.

Based on the figures announced by INEC, Adeleke defeated Oyebamiji by 66,252 votes and secured victory in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas. Oyebamiji won the remaining 11 councils. (Premium Times Nigeria)

The result gave Adeleke a second term in office, but the APC has now indicated that the party is not prepared to accept the declaration without first scrutinising the results and the conduct of the election.

Oke said the APC had already commenced an audit of the Osun election, with party agents directed to submit copies of key electoral documents for examination.

“We have embarked on an audit process. We have asked all our party agents to submit copies of Forms EC8A, B, and C to our secretariat for review. We need to inspect the materials,” he said. (The Sun Nigeria)

The documents include the polling-unit result forms and subsequent collation documents. The APC is expected to compare the figures recorded at the different stages of collation with the final figures announced by INEC.

The review is also expected to examine the conduct of the election, including events before, during and after voting, as well as compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act and other applicable electoral regulations.

Oke indicated that the APC’s eventual position would depend on what emerges from the audit. If the party identifies grounds to challenge the result, it could pursue the available legal channels.

He noted that the electoral process does not necessarily end with INEC’s declaration, pointing to the election tribunal, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court as stages through which an election dispute may progress where the relevant legal conditions are met.

“Until we do that and form our opinion, we won’t be able to go further to say anything on this,” Oke said.

The APC’s position differs from that of President Bola Tinubu, who congratulated Adeleke following INEC’s declaration. Oke stressed that the campaign organisation’s assessment was based on its own review of events and materials from the field. (Osun Defender)

The disagreement comes after a closely contested election in which Adeleke and Oyebamiji dominated the results across the state. While Adeleke secured the higher statewide vote total and won 19 local government areas, the APC candidate won 11 councils.

For now, INEC’s declaration remains the official result of the Osun governorship election, with Adeleke recognised as the winner. The APC has not, however, indicated that it has already filed an election petition. Instead, the party says it is first conducting an audit before deciding whether further action is necessary. (Premium Times Nigeria)

The development means the post-election contest in Osun could shift from political campaigns to a detailed examination of result sheets and other election records, with the APC expected to announce its next move after completing the review.