Osun Decides: Aregbesola Loses Own Polling Unit, as APC Crushes ADC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has defeated the African Democratic Congress (ADC) at the polling unit where former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola cast his vote in Saturday’s governorship election, handing the ADC a symbolic setback in the stronghold of one of its leading figures.

At Polling Unit 001, Cooperative Building Junction, Isare, Ward 08, Ilesa East Local Government Area, APC governorship candidate Bola Oyebamiji secured 256 votes to emerge first.

The incumbent governor and Accord Party candidate, Ademola Adeleke, came a distant second with 43 votes, while ADC candidate Najeem Salaam, who is backed by Aregbesola, polled 13 votes.

Aregbesola, who served as governor of Osun from 2010 to 2018, voted at the polling unit earlier on Saturday before the results were announced.

The outcome is particularly notable because Aregbesola is now the National Secretary of the ADC and has emerged as one of the party’s prominent political figures in the state.

His support for Salaam had positioned the former governor’s hometown as an important symbolic battleground for the ADC, which entered the election seeking to establish itself as a major alternative to the APC and Accord.

The APC also recorded a decisive victory at another polling unit close to Aregbesola’s family compound.

At Polling Unit 007, Elegant D.C. (Agbon Arugbo), Isare, Ward 08, the APC secured 202 votes, ahead of Accord with 110 votes. The ADC again finished third with just 12 votes.

The combined results from the two polling units gave the APC a commanding advantage in an area closely associated with the former governor.

Aregbesola’s political history in Osun adds significance to the results. He governed the state for two terms and later served as Minister of Interior under the APC before leaving the party and joining the ADC.

The former governor was among the prominent political figures expected to strengthen the ADC’s challenge in the election, particularly as the party sought to capitalise on dissatisfaction with the established political blocs.

However, the early results from his immediate political neighbourhood show the difficulty of converting political prominence into votes at the grassroots.

The results from the two polling units do not, by themselves, determine the wider outcome of the election, but they represent an early symbolic blow to the ADC and its campaign in Osun.

The incumbent Adeleke is seeking another term, while Oyebamiji is challenging on the APC platform and Salaam is flying the flag of the ADC.