Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has renewed his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term in the 2027 presidential election, describing the President as “a son of Osun State.”
Adeleke made the declaration on Sunday during a press conference shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the August 15 governorship election.
The governor also commended Tinubu for what he described as his support for a free and fair election in the state.
“At this point, I must deeply appreciate Mr. President, His Excellency Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his strong support for a free and fair election.
“Mr. President is a son of Osun State, and I hereby reaffirm my earlier endorsement of him for a second term in the 2027 presidential election,” Adeleke said.
Adeleke had previously endorsed Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election, despite being a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He later defected to the Accord Party to contest the 2026 Osun governorship election.
The governor was declared winner of the election at about 7:24 a.m. on Sunday by the State Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti.
Adeleke, contesting on the platform of the Accord Party, polled 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 444,815 votes.
The governor won in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji secured 11. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, came third with 17,180 votes.
The victory secured Adeleke a second term in office, following his election as governor in 2022 on the PDP platform before his move to the Accord Party ahead of the 2026 election.
Earlier on Sunday, Adeleke thanked Tinubu for calling to congratulate him on his victory and expressed his expectation that Oyebamiji would also reach out to congratulate him.
“Yes. This is no victor, no vanquished. I want them to come over. I am expecting Oyebamiji to even, as a civilised person, to call me and congratulate me,” he said.
He added:
“And of course, I want to seize this opportunity to thank Mr. President. Mr. President has called me and he has congratulated me. And I thank you, Mr. President, for making sure democracy lives on, because you fought for it, Mr. President.”
Adeleke’s renewed endorsement further underscores his political support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential contest, even as the governor begins preparations for his second term in Osun State.
