Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has announced a N500 million Election Violence Victims Endowment Fund and automatic university scholarships for children and dependants of people killed during the build-up to the 2026 governorship election.
Adeleke made the announcement on Wednesday while addressing members of the Osun labour movement at a separate celebration rally shortly after receiving his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osogbo.
The governor said the scholarship programme would be provided by his family through the Springtime Development Foundation, covering the children and dependants of those who lost their lives during the electoral process up to university level.
“As part of our commitment to supporting affected families, the Adeleke family, through the Springtime Development Foundation, will provide automatic scholarships up to university level for the children and dependents of those who lost their lives,” he said.
Adeleke also announced that the state government would establish the N500 million Election Violence Victims Endowment Fund to provide relief to verified victims and families affected by electoral violence.
He said a Verification and Relief Committee, to be chaired by the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, would be responsible for identifying and assessing victims and ensuring equitable distribution of assistance.
According to the governor, the intervention would not be influenced by political affiliation, religion, ethnicity, gender or social status.
“This is not a political fund. It is a humanitarian intervention. No eligible victim will be discriminated against on the basis of political affiliation, religion, ethnicity, gender or social status,” Adeleke said.
He added that while the state was celebrating the outcome of the election, the government remained mindful of the casualties and destruction recorded during the electoral process.
“Citizens were injured, properties were destroyed, livelihoods disrupted and, most painfully, lives were lost,” he said.
Earlier, Adeleke described his Certificate of Return as belonging to the people of Osun State, saying the document represented their renewed confidence in democracy.
The governor, who danced amid cheers from Accord party members and other supporters, said he had forgiven those who might have offended him during the election and held no grudge against his political opponents.
“God has fought my battles for me, and so I hold unto God throughout the duration of the political war and now that I have been re-elected,” he said.
Adeleke commended INEC for what he described as a professional conduct of the election in accordance with the Electoral Act.
He also praised security agencies, particularly the police and Department of State Services (DSS), while noting that more could have been done by the police.
“I commend the electoral commission for doing a good job. You stood for democracy. I commend the security agencies, especially the Commissioner of Police for the election; the DSS,” he said.
He later visited the Ataoja Palace in Osogbo, where he commiserated with families of people killed or injured during the electoral process.
The governor specifically remembered Ezekiel Olapade, Aderogba Ajayi, Remi Abass and Kolade Eluyera, alongside other victims of electoral violence.
“To their families, I say: your pain has not been forgotten, and your loved ones will never be reduced to statistics,” Adeleke said.
He also visited the Timi of Ede and Senator Oluwole Alabi to present his Certificate of Return and seek royal blessings.
Earlier at the certificate presentation, INEC National Commissioner for the Osun election, Kunle Ajayi, commended voters in the state for turning out to exercise their franchise despite concerns over electoral violence.
INEC declared Adeleke winner of the August 15 governorship election on Sunday after he secured 511,067 votes against 444,815 votes recorded by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, came third with 17,180 votes.
Adeleke won in 19 of Osun State’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji secured victory in 11, giving the incumbent governor a second four-year term.
