Osun Gov. Ademola Adeleke has denied claims by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that the party contributed to his victory in Saturday’s governorship election.

Adeleke, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said he had no electoral agreement, alliance or partnership with the ADC before, during or after the election.

The governor attributed his victory to God and the people of Osun State, stressing that the ADC was never part of the political coalition that mobilised support for his re-election.

Advertisement

Adeleke also commended political allies who, he said, made sacrifices to ensure victory at the polls. “I commend political partners who went all out to make Saturday a victory day for all Osun people.

“But we must clarify, for the sake of history, that ADC was never part of the alliance. “Now that the election is over, I am a governor of all Osun people, irrespective of political groups, religion or race,” he said.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Adeleke winner of the election in the early hours of Sunday after he secured 511,067 votes.

Advertisement

His closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), polled 444,815 votes, while Najeem Salaam of the ADC finished third with 17,180 votes.

The INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, who announced the results at the commission’s collation centre, said 985,079 votes were valid. He added that 20,721 votes were rejected, bringing the total number of votes cast to 1,005,800.

Adeleke, following his declaration as winner, said his administration would remain focused on serving all residents of Osun State regardless of their political affiliations.