The National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Rauf Aregbesola, lost his Ifofin Ward 8, Unit 1, in Ilesa East Local Government Area to the All Progressives Congress in Saturday’s Osun governorship election.

Recall that Aregbesola voted at the unit in the afternoon on Saturday in an election that was largely peaceful and witnessed a large turnout of voters.

In the result obtained, the APC polled 256 votes, while the ADC scored 13 votes.

The ruling party in the state, Accord, got 43 votes.

At Ward 1, Unit 2, Ibokun NUD Primary School, Obokun Local Government Area, where the National Treasurer of the Peoples Democratic Party, Diran Odeyemi, voted, the Accord Party polled 211 votes, while the APC got 178 votes.

As of the time of filing this report, collation of results was ongoing across the state.

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has urged President Bola Tinubu to direct security agencies deployed for the governorship election to protect the integrity of the electoral process as collation of results begins.

Adeleke made the appeal in a post on X on Saturday evening, expressing concern over alleged attempts to disrupt or hijack collation centres across the state.

Addressing Tinubu, the governor said, “It is imperative that you use your good office to issue a clear warning to the heads of security agencies deployed to protect the good people of Osun State and safeguard the integrity of the electoral process.”

He said reports of alleged attempts to disrupt collation centres by politicians were “deeply concerning and unacceptable,” given the number of security personnel deployed for the election.

Adeleke urged the President to reiterate his commitment to ensuring that votes cast by Osun residents count and that the final outcome reflects their choice.

“I therefore implore you to reiterate the commitment made to the people of Osun State that their votes will count and that the outcome of this election will reflect their genuine choice,” he said.

The governor specifically called on the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services, Nigerian Army and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to adhere to the directive, while urging that the Independent National Electoral Commission receive the necessary support to complete the process.


“The Nigeria Police, DSS, Nigerian Army, NSCDC and other security agencies must strictly adhere to this directive, while INEC must be given every necessary support to conclude the process and deliver a credible and transparent outcome,” Adeleke said.

He added, “The people of Osun State have spoken with one voice, and their voices must be heard. Their votes must be protected, and their mandate must be respected.”

Adeleke also commended voters for turning out for the election and urged security agencies to remain vigilant as results move from polling units to wards and local government collation centres.

“Against all odds, the people of Osun State have turned out in large numbers and are speaking with one voice. The safety and protection of our people is paramount,” he said.

“I commend the security agencies deployed for this election and urge them to remain vigilant as we move into the collation of results; from polling units to wards to local government areas.”

The governor further called on INEC to maintain high standards throughout the collation process.

“I also call on INEC to uphold the highest standards of integrity throughout this process,” he said.

After what seemed to be a tranquil election in the Ogo-Oluwa, Golf Junction region of Osogbo, the Osun State capital, armed thugs, allegedly hired by the All Progressives Congress, APC, reportedly began shooting sporadically, in an effort to hijack the ballot box at Polling Unit 1, Ward 2.

While the votes were still being counted at the Polling Unit, approximately eight masked thugs appeared, discharging their weapons indiscriminately and instilling fear in voters present at the polling unit.

However, the security personnel assigned to the unit manged to safeguarded some of the ballot box while the remaining were carted away by the thugs.

Regarding the delay in counting, the Presiding Officer clarified that the voters themselves caused the holdup by insisting on casting their votes despite arriving late at the polling unit.

An eyewitness recounted the incident, “I must be honest, these are thugs affiliated with the APC. This polling unit is under the jurisdiction of Accord. The large crowd here indicates a clear victory for Accord. This is the reason for the chaos. The police managed to secure some of the ballot papers, but the thugs absconded with the remainder.

“They are determined to undermine the will of the people. This reflects the nature of the federal government we have. The citizens have expressed their desire for the incumbent to remain in power, yet here we are, facing attempts to seize control of the state by any means necessary.”