By Damola Emmanuel
After narrowly missing the trophy in 2018, candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, former Senator Ademola Adeleke defeated incumbent Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to become the next governor of Osun State.
He was declared winner of Saturday’s governorship election after clinching 17 of the 30 local government areas of the state, including LGAs that were in the firm grip of APC. The APC and its candidate, Governor Oyetola, won 13.
The Chief Returning Officer for the vote, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, declared Adeleke winner having scored 403,371 votes while Oyetola got 375,027.
Adeleke’s emphatic victory upstaged predictions, by political pundits, of a very tight race. The man, popularly called ‘Dancing Senator’, over-performed and rubbished the forecast.
It was an election that not only saw voters turn out en-masse but also waited patiently to ensure that their votes counted.
The exercise also saw INEC improve on its performance in Ekiti State, with the security agencies weaving a water-tight security net to keep troublemakers at bay and guarantee peace.
Both parties had earlier commended INEC for its topnotch arrangements for the vote and almost seamless delivery at the polling units across the 30 LGAs.
But political watchers warn citizens not to let down their guards and over celebrate but keep the Governor-elect and his team on their toes to deliver their promises.
