Ademola Adeleke has been re-elected as governor of Osun State, defeating his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in a closely contested governorship election.
Adeleke, who contested on the platform of the Accord Party, was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday morning after an overnight collation of results in Osogbo, the state capital.
The state returning officer, Joshua Ogunwole, announced that Adeleke polled 511,067 votes, while Oyebamiji secured 444,815 votes. Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) finished third with 17,180 votes.
Adeleke won in 19 of the 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11.
The election was held amid heightened tension following reports of violence and attacks in the days leading up to the poll. Although major incidents of violence were limited on election day, there were reports of voter intimidation, vote-buying, disruptions and harassment of journalists.
Voting commenced early across much of the state, but technical difficulties with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) caused delays at some polling units.
Despite the challenges, the election recorded significant voter participation, with large crowds reported at several polling centres.