APC Osun election result faces scrutiny as the party audits 332 wards after INEC declared Ademola Adeleke winner by 66,252 votes
All Progressives Congress (APC) Osun Governorship Campaign Director-General Oluwole Oke says the party is auditing the August 15 election result after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Governor Ademola Adeleke the winner, with the APC declining to accept the declaration until its review is complete.
Also read: Soludo Congratulates Adeleke on Osun Re-election
The APC’s challenge comes two days after INEC announced that Adeleke, the Accord Party candidate and incumbent governor, secured 511,067 votes, defeating APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815.
African Democratic Congress candidate Najeem Salaam finished third with 17,180 votes.
The 66,252-vote margin gave Adeleke victory in 19 of Osun State’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11.
Oke said the campaign organisation was not prepared to offer congratulations before examining the underlying electoral records.
“We do not agree with the declaration of INEC. That’s our position for now. We believe he did not score the highest valid votes,” Oke said during an interview with Arise News.
The APC has instructed its polling agents to submit copies of Forms EC8A, EC8B and EC8C to the party secretariat.
Oke said the documents would form part of an audit intended to establish what happened across the state.
“We have embarked on an audit process. We have asked all our party agents to submit copies of Forms EC8A, B, and C to our secretariat for review. We need to inspect the materials,” he said.
APC Director of Media and Information Kola Olabisi said the party was also analysing results from all 332 wards.
The review, according to the campaign organisation, will cover events before polling day, the conduct of voting and the collation of results.
Oke stressed that the party would not be rushed into a decision.
“When you have a project of this nature with the outcome announced by INEC, we will not be in a haste, nor shall we be under pressure without doing the needful,” he said.
The position creates a notable contrast with the response from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The President congratulated Adeleke after the declaration and described the outcome as a reaffirmation of democratic rule, while urging the re-elected governor to unite Osun residents and concentrate on growth, stability and socio-economic progress.
Adeleke has also called for reconciliation following the closely watched contest.
After his victory, he said he expected Oyebamiji to contact him and congratulate him, describing such a gesture as the “civilised thing to do”.
Adeleke also indicated that his administration would work towards healing political divisions in the state.
The APC’s objections come against a wider backdrop of questions raised about aspects of the election, although those concerns do not by themselves establish that the declared result was incorrect.
The British High Commission in Nigeria commended the peaceful participation of Osun voters and congratulated Adeleke, while also raising concerns about vote-buying, accessibility challenges and problems involving the biometric voter accreditation system, known as BVAS.
An election working group of the Nigerian Bar Association similarly identified BVAS performance as a significant operational issue, including cases where some elderly voters reportedly encountered difficulties completing accreditation.
For the APC, however, the immediate question is whether its own examination of the records can substantiate its contention that the valid-vote figures should produce a different outcome.
The dispute also carries echoes of the 2022 Osun governorship election, when Adeleke defeated the then incumbent APC candidate, Adegboyega Oyetola, by 403,371 votes to 375,027.
Oyetola challenged the result, and an election tribunal initially declared him the winner after deducting votes it considered affected by over-voting.
The Court of Appeal subsequently restored Adeleke’s victory, and the Supreme Court in May 2023 upheld that decision, finding that Oyetola and the APC had failed to prove their allegations of improper accreditation and over-voting.
That history gives the latest APC review particular significance.
A formal legal challenge, if eventually pursued, would place the 2026 result before the election petition process and potentially reopen another prolonged electoral dispute in Osun.
For now, Oke has stopped short of confirming that the party will go to court.
He said the APC would first complete its audit, consult its legal team and assess whether the evidence supports action under the Electoral Act.
The distinction is important. INEC’s declaration remains the official result, while the APC’s claim that Adeleke did not secure the highest number of valid votes remains a party position pending any formal petition and judicial determination.
The coming review of result sheets from Osun’s 332 wards will therefore be a crucial next step.
Also read: Soludo Congratulates Adeleke on Osun Re-election
It could either reinforce the APC’s objections or provide the basis for the party to accept the declaration and move on from a fiercely contested election.
