Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has renewed his endorsement of President Bola Tinubu 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) announced him as the winner of the August 15 governorship election.
The governor also expressed appreciation to Tinubu for his role in supporting what he described as a free and fair electoral process 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 earlier backed Tinubu’s bid for a second term, despite being a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before defecting to the Accord party to contest the 2026 Osun governorship election.
His latest endorsement came shortly after he secured re-election, defeating his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The State Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, declared Adeleke the winner at about 7:24 am on Sunday.
The Accord party candidate polled 511,067 votes against Oyebamiji’s 444,815 votes, while the African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salaam, finished third with 17,180 votes.
Adeleke won in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji secured victory in 11.
The result gave Adeleke a second term in office after he was first elected governor in 2022 on the PDP platform. He subsequently moved to the Accord Party ahead of the 2026 governorship election.
Earlier on Sunday, Adeleke thanked Tinubu for calling to congratulate him on his electoral victory, while urging Oyebamiji to follow suit.
“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.
The governor also praised Tinubu for what he described as his commitment to democracy and the conduct of the election.
“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 added.
