Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has challenged the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, to call and congratulate him on his victory in Saturday’s governorship election.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Adeleke winner of the poll after collating results from all 30 local government areas of the state.
Adeleke, who contested on the platform of the Accord Party, polled 511,067 votes to defeat Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes, in the keenly contested election.
Speaking shortly after his victory was announced, Adeleke described the outcome as a triumph for democracy and a vote of confidence from the people of Osun State.
“I want them to come over. I’m expecting Oyebamiji to call me and congratulate me,” Adeleke said.
The governor also thanked President Bola Tinubu for congratulating him, saying the President’s gesture showed his commitment to democratic values.
“I want to seize the opportunity to thank Mr President. Mr President has called me, and he has congratulated me. Thank you, Mr President, for making sure democracy lives on because we fought for it,” he said.
Adeleke, who secured a second term in office, said his victory represents the appreciation of Osun residents for his administration’s performance, particularly in infrastructure, education and agriculture.
“First of all, I thank God Almighty for what has happened today. It’s a victory for democracy in Nigeria,” he said.
He added, “It is a victory for Osun people that stood by me, that said, ‘Imole, you have done a lot for us. You have given us dividends of democracy in terms of infrastructure, improving our education, agriculture, and so forth.’
“So this is the Osun people saying, ‘Thank you, Mr Governor.’”
The governor promised to reciprocate the support by pursuing an industrialisation agenda aimed at transforming the economic structure of the state.
According to him, his administration’s vision is to move Osun from a predominantly civil service-based economy to an industrial state while ensuring development across the state.
“I will repay that ‘thank you’ back by making sure that I have a vision. My vision is to make sure Osun State moves from a civil service state to industrial state and make sure all across Osun State development is on,” Adeleke said.
He also struck a conciliatory tone after the election, saying his victory should not be viewed as a defeat for his opponents.
“This is no victor, no vanquish,” he said, calling on his political opponents to accept the outcome of the election.
The governor expressed confidence that his victory would translate into greater development for residents, stressing that the mandate belonged to the people of Osun.
Asked whether he had at any point feared that he might lose the election, Adeleke attributed his confidence to his faith in God.
“I have an answer to that. I have a God who never fails, who will never fail forevermore,” he said.
The governor described his victory as a reflection of the choice made by Osun voters and pledged to justify their confidence by working harder to deliver the dividends of democracy across the state.
