Kwankwaso Congratulates Adeleke on His Win in Osun Election

Former Governor of Kano State and vice-presidential candidate for the Nigeria Democratic Congress in the 2027 election, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has congratulated Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, on his victory in the governorship election held on August 15, 2026.

Kwankwaso shared a statement on his verified X account on Sunday. He called Adeleke his friend and praised him for winning the election under the Accord Party.

“As a leader of the opposition and a committed democrat, I commend the people of Osun State for exercising their democratic rights and reaffirming the power of the people’s mandate,” Kwankwaso said.

PUNCH Online reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke the winner of the election early Sunday. He defeated Bola Oyebamiji from the All Progressives Congress.

Adeleke received 511,067 votes while Oyebamiji got 444,815 votes. Adeleke won in 19 out of 30 local government areas in the state, while Oyebamiji won in 11. The African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salaam, came in third with 17,180 votes.

This election was very important for Adeleke. He ran under the Accord Party after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party, which was the party he used to become governor in 2022.

Adeleke left the PDP due to a long-standing crisis that led to the party holding its governorship primary without him. He later secured the Accord ticket to keep his position outside the party that originally brought him to power.

Kwankwaso stated that the election results showed how vital it is for citizens to take part in the democratic process and make their voices heard.

“This victory is a reminder that when citizens remain committed to their civic responsibilities and make their voices heard, the people’s will must prevail,” he said.

The former Kano governor also praised INEC for managing the election. He urged the electoral body and other stakeholders to keep supporting credible, peaceful, and transparent elections.

“I also commend the Independent National Electoral Commission for the conduct of the election and encourage all stakeholders to continue to uphold the principles of credible, peaceful and transparent elections. Congratulations once again to Governor Adeleke and the good people of Osun State,” Kwankwaso added.

His praise comes amid reports of vote-buying, inducement, and some violence during the election.

PUNCH Online reports that the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project sent a petition to INEC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission. They called for investigations into allegations of vote-buying, financial inducement, illegal election financing, voter intimidation, violence, and other electoral issues linked to the election.

Despite these concerns, the Centre for Democracy and Development said the election was mostly peaceful. The final results showed Adeleke secured a strong victory over his closest rival.