JUST IN: Adeleke clears Osogbo, takes early lead in #OsunDecides2022

Ademola Adeleke, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, has emerged victorious in Osogbo Local Government Area, defeating incumbent governor Gboyega Oyetola in the crucial precinct that encapsulates the state capital.

Mr Adeleke garnered 30,401 votes out of the total 54,997 votes recorded in Osogbo LGA, while Mr Oyetola garnered 22,952 votes for the ruling All Progressives Congress.

The total number of votes cast in Osogbo LGA for Saturday’s election was 55,942. 945 votes had been rejected.

Mr Adeleke had won at his polling unit in a landslide. The results for Polling Unit 09, Ward 02, Abogunde, Ede North LGA had come in earlier in the day; with 218 votes for the PDP and a mere 23 votes for the APC. Mr Oyetola also cleared his polling unit in Iragbiji, Boripe LGA, shellacking Mr Adeleke there.

Both parties had alleged voter inducements at the polls, with security agencies, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, clamping down on party agents over voter inducement.

Election monitoring group YIAGA Africa had reported earlier that in some polling units, agents of the PDP and APC were seen inducing voters with cash ranging from N2,000 to N5,000.

In PU 009, Akinlalu Commercial Grammar School, Ward 01 in Ife North, Yiaga observed that party agents placed themselves by the voting cubicle to watch how voters marked their ballots. While in PU 003, opposite Olomu Mosque in Osogbo, PDP agents were seen handing out between N2,000 and N5,000 to induce voters.

Early results from Ede, Osogbo and other parts of the state show Mr Adeleke leading, although most results are still being expected.