Osun Election: APC Says It Won’t Congratulate Adeleke Yet

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council in Osun State has said it will not immediately congratulate Governor Ademola Adeleke on his victory in the August 15 governorship election, insisting that the party is still reviewing the results and conduct of the poll.

The Director-General of the APC governorship campaign, Oluwole Oke, said the party was conducting a detailed assessment of the election and would determine its next course of action after examining the results and relevant documents.

Oke disclosed this during an interview with Arise News on Monday evening.

He said the campaign council’s position was separate from that of President Bola Tinubu, who congratulated Adeleke after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner.

According to him, the campaign council was directly involved in the election and therefore needed to independently examine the process before taking a position.

“We won’t be under any sort of pressure to easily reach out to congratulate Senator Ademola Adeleke,” Oke said.

The APC campaign DG also rejected INEC’s declaration, saying the party believed Adeleke did not secure the highest number of valid votes.

“We do not agree with the declaration of INEC. That’s our position for now. We believe he did not score the highest valid votes,” he said.

Oke said the APC had commenced an audit of the election and directed its agents to submit copies of relevant result sheets for examination.

He said the documents, including Forms EC8A, EC8B and EC8C, would be reviewed at the party’s secretariat.

The party’s Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, said the APC was studying the results from all 332 wards in the state.

He added that the party would consult its lawyers and consider available legal options if its review uncovered irregularities.

The campaign council said its review would cover both the election results and issues surrounding the pre-election period and conduct of the poll.

Oke said the party would assess its findings against the Electoral Act and other relevant laws before deciding its next course of action.

INEC declared Adeleke the winner after he polled 511,067 votes, ahead of the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes. Accord candidate Najeem Salaam finished third with 17,180 votes.

Adeleke won in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11, giving the incumbent a margin of 66,252 votes.

After his declaration as winner, Adeleke said he expected Oyebamiji to congratulate him.

The APC Campaign Council, however, said it would complete its review before announcing its final position or deciding whether to challenge the election result in court.

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