APC Says It Won’t Rush to Congratulate Adeleke After Osun Election

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it will not rush to congratulate Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, following his victory in the August 15 governorship election.

The Director-General of the APC governorship campaign in Osun State, Oluwole Oke, made this known during an interview with Arise News on Monday.

Oke said the party was conducting a detailed review of the election results and would decide on its next move after examining the available electoral documents.

According to him, the congratulatory message issued by President Bola Tinubu to Adeleke was separate from the position of the APC campaign team, which participated directly in the election and was assessing the conduct and outcome of the poll.

“We will not be under any pressure to rush into congratulating Senator Ademola Adeleke,” Oke said.
He added that the APC disagreed with the declaration made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that Adeleke did not obtain the highest number of valid votes.

INEC declared Adeleke, who contested under the Accord Party, the winner after he secured 511,067 votes. The APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, came second with 444,815 votes, while the African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salaam, polled 17,180 votes.

Adeleke won in 19 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won in 11, giving the incumbent governor a margin of 66,252 votes.

After his victory was announced, Adeleke appealed to Oyebamiji to call and congratulate him, describing such a gesture as the “civilised thing to do.”

However, Oke maintained that the APC campaign team was more interested in completing its review of the election before taking any decision.

He said the party had already begun an audit of the election and instructed its agents across the state to submit copies of relevant result sheets, including Forms EC8A, EC8B and EC8C, for examination.

The APC Director of Media and Information in Osun State, Kola Olabisi, also confirmed that the party was reviewing results from all 332 wards in the state.

The party said it would consult its legal team and consider all available legal options if its review uncovered irregularities or violations of the Electoral Act.

Oke said the party would examine both the pre-election activities and the conduct of the election itself before deciding whether to challenge the outcome.

He also criticised the Adeleke administration, particularly its performance in education, healthcare and support for farmers, claiming that the government had failed to meet the expectations of residents.

The APC campaign director urged the public to allow the party sufficient time to complete its assessment before announcing its next course of action

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