Osogbo: There was jubilation in Osogbo following the declaration of Gov. Ademola Adeleke as the winner of Saturday’s governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to News Agency of Nigeria, immediately after the final results were announced, supporters and residents of the town trooped out in large numbers to celebrate the victory. Supporters of the governor, who had gathered at the INEC office as early as 5.00 a.m., danced at the commission’s main entrance shortly after the declaration.
Many of the supporters and residents were seen riding motorcycles and driving around the town, singing victory songs and celebrating the outcome of the election. INEC, in the early hours of Sunday, declared Adeleke the winner after polling 511,067 votes to defeat his closest rival, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 444,815 votes.
The INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, who declared the results at the INEC collation centre, said the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Najeem Salaam, came a distant third with 17,180 votes. Ogunwole, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, said the total valid votes cast were 985,079, while 20,721 votes were rejected, bringing the total number of votes cast to 1,005,800.
Adeleke won in 19 local government areas, while Oyebamiji recorded victory in 11 LGAs.