One For All
66,251-vote margin: Workers, youths, communities backed Adeleke’s record — Babawale Popoola
The Senior Special Assistant to the Osun State Governor on Youth and Strategic Engagement, Hon. Babawale Jamiu Popoola, says Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election in the August 15, 2026 governorship election was a verdict on the performance of his administration.
Popoola said the election was not merely a contest between political parties but a referendum on governance, with voters choosing continuity based on the administration’s record in office.
According to him, the Accord Party secured 511,067 votes against the 444,816 votes recorded by the All Progressives Congress (APC), giving Adeleke a margin of 66,251 votes across the 30 Local Government Areas.
He said workers’ welfare was one of the major factors behind the result, arguing that civil servants and pensioners remembered the half-salary era and inherited pension liabilities.
Popoola said the Adeleke administration had paid outstanding debts, half-salary obligations, pension arrears and belated promotion arrears, including more than N80 billion in inherited pension debt.
On infrastructure, he said the administration implemented projects across the state, including the Lagere-Enuwa Road and Lagere Flyover in Ile-Ife, Lameco and Oke-Fia flyovers in Osogbo, as well as road projects across all 30 local government areas.
He noted that at least 1.5 kilometres of road construction or rehabilitation was undertaken in each local government area, stressing that even Ikire, the hometown of the defeated APC candidate, was not excluded.
Popoola also attributed the governor’s victory to interventions in healthcare, education and youth empowerment. He said more than 200 primary healthcare facilities had been upgraded and rehabilitated with electricity and clean water.
He described youth inclusion as another defining feature of the administration, saying the government had created opportunities for young people to participate in governance, empowerment and strategic engagement.
On the election itself, Popoola described the exercise as a litmus test for the 2027 general elections and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies to sustain the lessons from Osun.
He said voters must have confidence that their votes would count, stressing that such confidence would strengthen democracy.
According to him, the election demonstrated that Osun voters have a strong political memory and assess governments based on their experiences with workers’ welfare, infrastructure, healthcare and other areas of governance.
Popoola said the result should therefore be viewed as a verdict on performance, rather than personality or partisan politics.
“Osun people did not vote for perfection. They voted for progress,” he said, congratulating Governor Adeleke on his renewed mandate and declaring that “the work continues.”
