Voting has ended in the 2026 Osun State governorship election with incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party holding a provisional lead as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, uploads results to its IReV portal.

The off-cycle poll, held on Saturday, August 15, 2026, was rescheduled from August 8 and is seen as a key test ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The election featured 15 parties after INEC added SDP’s Dr. Francis Olugbenga Ajala following a court judgment. Both PDP and Labour Party fielded no candidates.

The race was largely viewed as a three-way contest between:

• Ademola Adeleke – Accord Party, seeking a second term after defecting from PDP. Running mate: Kola Adenusi/Adewusi
• Bola Oyebamiji, AMBO – APC, former NIWA MD. Running mate: Benjamin Adereti
• Najeem Folasayo Salaam – ADC, former Osun Speaker

Voting was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. across 3,763 polling units in 30 LGAs and 332 wards. 2,339,233 voters were registered, with about 1.9 million PVCs collected.

INEC deployed BVAS for accreditation and began uploading results to IReV for transparency. Security was tight with movement restricted from midnight Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Issues reported included BVAS facial recognition delays in Ife East, Ejigbo and Oriade, alleged vote-buying with materials seized in Ejigbo, a brief disruption in Ejigbo Ward 4, and claims by Adeleke of voter intimidation in Olorunda and Irewole. Police said the day was largely calm with limited arrests.

Candidates voted at their units: Adeleke in Ede North, Oyebamiji and Salaam also cast ballots.

Results So Far
As of 7:40–8:00 p.m, INEC had uploaded 79–86% of polling unit results to IReV about 2,987 to 3,241+ out of 3,763 units.

Provisional aggregates from IReV data trackers show:

• Ademola Adeleke, Accord: 51.9% – 52.7% 398,000 – 413,000+ votes
• Bola Oyebamiji, APC: 42% – 45% 328,000 – 348,000+ votes
• Najeem Salaam, ADC: 1.7% 5,900 – 13,000+ votes

Total votes counted in aggregates reached 767,000 – 801,000+ with turnout in the low-to-mid 40% range. Rejected votes remained low.

Adeleke won in key areas including his own unit in Ede North, former Governor Oyinlola’s unit, and Senator Oyewumi’s unit in Ikire. APC’s Oyebamiji took former Governor Aregbesola’s unit in Ilesa. Results reflected strongholds for the main contenders.

Collation is ongoing at ward, LGA and state levels. No official declaration has been made yet by the Returning Officer.

In the evening, Adeleke’s campaign alleged plans to pressure INEC into declaring the election inconclusive. INEC is yet to respond to the claim.

SOURCE: INEC IReV, ChannelsTV, Punch, Tribune, Nigeria Open Data.