THROWBACK: How Adeleke lost Osun by 482 votes in 2018, won in 2022

Blessing Fali

The 2018 Osun governorship election remains one of the closest elections in the state’s history. Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, initially led Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress, APC, by 353 votes after the main ballot.

However, following the supplementary election ordered by INEC, Oyetola overtook Adeleke and was declared winner with 255,505 votes against Adeleke’s 255,023, a margin of just 482 votes.

Four years later, the political story changed. In the 2022 governorship election, Adeleke secured 403,371 votes, defeating the incumbent Oyetola, who polled 375,027 votes. Adeleke won by 28,344 votes and was declared governor-elect.

The 2022 victory was particularly significant for Adeleke, who had contested the 2018 result through the courts. His eventual victory four years later marked a dramatic turnaround in the political fortunes of the two men.