The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has congratulated Governor Adeleke on his re-election in the Osun State governorship election, describing the outcome as a victory for democracy and opposition forces that worked together during the poll.
However, the party demanded an explanation from INEC over what it described as a nearly four-hour interruption in the uploading of polling-unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal during Saturday’s election.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the delay raised questions despite Adeleke’s eventual victory.
The party claimed its intelligence showed that result uploads stopped at about 8pm when the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, was trailing.
“The ADC hereby demands a comprehensive explanation from the Independent National Electoral Commission regarding the observed interruption in the uploading of election results to the IReV portal for nearly four hours on election night. INEC must tell Nigerians precisely what happened,” Abdullahi said.
Although the ADC provided no evidence that INEC deliberately halted the uploads, it said the circumstances warranted clarification from the commission.
INEC eventually completed the collation and declared Adeleke the winner with 511,067 votes, ahead of Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815. ADC candidate Najeem Salaam came third with 17,180 votes. Adeleke won 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11.
The ADC said the result showed that voters could resist political pressure and the deployment of government resources when determined to exercise their franchise.
The party also criticised what it described as massive APC mobilisation during the campaign, alleging that senior political figures and government officials were deployed to Osun in support of Oyebamiji.
It said the outcome demonstrated the potential of opposition parties working together ahead of the 2027 general elections, arguing that political control does not automatically translate into control of voters.
The ADC urged INEC to explain the IReV interruption to prevent doubts about the integrity of the electoral process, while warning opposition parties not to become complacent ahead of 2027.
“We must not allow the euphoria of this victory to blind us to the dangers that lie ahead,” the party said.
The ADC candidate in the election, Najeem Salaam, also congratulated Governor Adeleke on his re-election, saying the outcome showed that democracy had prevailed.
Salaam came third with 17,180 votes.
In a congratulatory message, Salaam said the choice of the electorate should be respected regardless of political differences, stressing that politics should not threaten peace and unity in the state.
“Politics is not a do-or-die affair. The people have spoken; democracy has prevailed,” he said, wishing Adeleke a successful second term marked by greater development, peace and prosperity”.
(Ripples)
