Adeleke Thanks Tinubu After Osun Victory: ‘Thank You Mr President for Making Sure Democracy Lives On’

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu after his victory in the August 15 governorship election, revealing that the president personally called to congratulate him.

Adeleke spoke shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the election on Sunday.

The governor, who described the outcome as a victory for democracy and the people of Osun State, expressed appreciation to Tinubu for what he described as his role in ensuring that democracy remained alive.

“I want to seize this opportunity to thank Mr President. Mr President has called me and he has congratulated me. Thank you Mr President for making sure democracy lives on because you fought for it,” Adeleke said.

INEC declared Adeleke, who contested the election on the platform of the Accord Party, winner after he secured 511,067 votes.

His closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), polled 444,815 votes, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, came third with 17,180 votes. Adeleke therefore won by a margin of 66,252 votes.

Adeleke also adopted a conciliatory tone after his victory, saying there was “no victor, no vanquished” and expressing his expectation that Oyebamiji would congratulate him.

The governor said his administration would now focus on moving Osun State forward, including his vision of transforming the state from what he described as a civil service state into an industrial state.

The development comes after a closely contested election that saw Adeleke win 19 of Osun’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11.