BREAKING: Dancing Adeleke Coasts Towards Victory as IReV Lead Hits 74,096 Votes

Governor Ademola Adeleke is edging closer to another term in office as the latest figures appearing on INEC’s Result Viewing Portal, IReV, put him 74,096 votes ahead of his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress.

The latest figures show:

Ademola Adeleke, Accord: 505,332 votes

Bola Oyebamiji, APC: 431,236 votes

Margin: 74,096 votes

The widening gap has strengthened the expectation that the incumbent governor is on course to retain the Osun State Government House, although the Independent National Electoral Commission has yet to formally declare the winner.

The figures remain subject to the completion of the statutory collation process.

Adeleke’s lead keeps growing

The latest movement marks a further expansion of Adeleke’s advantage over Oyebamiji. Earlier figures had placed the governor ahead by a smaller margin.

The latest tally has pushed that advantage to 74,096 votes, leaving the APC candidate with a substantial deficit to overcome in the outstanding results.

The development has dramatically changed the atmosphere surrounding the election. What began as a fiercely contested three-way race has increasingly become a question of whether the remaining results can produce the numbers required to overturn Adeleke’s lead.

For now, the figures available on IReV point firmly towards the incumbent. ValidViewNetwork reports that Adeleke’s latest 505,332 votes give him a 74,096-vote advantage over Oyebamiji, who currently has 431,236 votes.

Natasha congratulates Adeleke

As the figures continued to move in Adeleke’s favour, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan also publicly congratulated the governor.

In a Facebook post published in the early hours of Sunday, she shared a graphic carrying Adeleke’s photograph and the words:

“CONGRATULATIONS, OSUN STATE! HIS EXCELLENCY, GOVERNOR ADEMOLA ADELEKE.”

Her accompanying message was even more direct:

“Congratulations H.E. Adeleke. Congratulations Osun State.”

The post was published while INEC was yet to make its formal declaration. Akpoti-Uduaghan’s message therefore adds to the growing political expectation around Adeleke’s apparent victory, but it does not constitute an official declaration of the election result.

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Osun waits for the final word

The latest figures come after a tense election night across the state. Voters and party supporters remained around several collation centres, monitoring the movement of results and insisting that votes counted at polling units should be faithfully reflected during collation.

The process was also disrupted by incidents at different locations.

At the Ataoja D Ward 4 collation centre in Osogbo, sporadic gunshots were heard during the night, sending people around the Union Baptist Primary School premises running for safety.

Earlier, a police officer was arrested following the accidental discharge of tear gas at a Registration Area Centre in Modakeke.

Other flashpoints were reported during the voting and collation process, including disputes over the handling of voters and results at some locations. Despite the tension, collation has continued.

The mathematics is now compelling

With Adeleke sitting on 505,332 votes against Oyebamiji’s 431,236, the APC candidate is 74,096 votes behind. That is now the central number in the Osun election.

Oyebamiji would need the outstanding results to deliver a very substantial advantage before he could erase the incumbent’s lead.

But until INEC completes the process and announces the final figures, no candidate can legally claim the office. The difference between leading the IReV figures and being declared winner remains important.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the latest electronic figures strongly favour Adeleke, while the state awaits the completion of collation and the official declaration by INEC.

For now, the dancing governor has every reason to feel the rhythm. But the music does not officially end until INEC calls the final tune.