The Osun State governorship election has produced a number of notable winners beyond Governor Ademola Adeleke, whose victory against the odds has reshaped the political landscape of the state. From his dramatic emergence under the Accord Party to the role played by his nephew, Afrobeats star Davido, and the support he received from influential traditional rulers, the election has highlighted the strength of Adeleke’s political base and the changing dynamics of Osun politics. DAVIDO Adeleke’s nephew and Afrobeats singer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, is also a major winner. Apart from openly campaigning for his uncle, Davido took on the governor’s opponents, including President Tinubu, governors and APC social media influencers. On the eve of the election, he was away in London for a show and was billed to return on election day to vote. He later alleged that soldiers were planning to prevent him from entering Osun State ahead of the governorship election. Davido made the claim in a post shared on his official X handle on Saturday, August 15, 2026. The singer said he had been informed that soldiers were trying to stop him from entering the state, adding, “this won’t happen.” “I’ve been reliably informed that soldiers are trying to prevent me from entering Osun tomorrow (Saturday), this won’t happen. “Every citizen of Nigeria has the right to movement at any point in time,” Davido wrote. Despite his absence, Davido remained visible on social media, constantly calling out INEC and security agents and encouraging voters to stand by their votes to avoid manipulation. When INEC halted the uploading of results on the IReV platform for about two hours last night, he called the commission out. In a series of posts on his X handle, Davido urged the commission to upload the outstanding results without further delay. Davido had earlier questioned the delay in uploading results to the IReV portal before the commission commenced the process. “INEC, it is now 2:33 p.m., yet no result has been uploaded to the IReV portal. What is the delay? Nigerians deserve transparency and timely updates,” he wrote. He also urged voters to remain at their polling units until their results were uploaded to the IReV portal and to ensure that the figures were entered on the electronic EC8A result form. While some netizens applauded Davido for standing by his uncle, others asked him to sustain the same energy during the next election. “#Davido may not be in Osun today, but he moved the whole world for his uncle! Adeleke na big name!!” Tersoo Adorowa (@king_tersoo) posted on his X handle. OLAJENGBESI Pelumi Olajengbesi, a lawyer, is the official spokesperson for the Imole Campaign Council. He is also Accord Party candidate for the Oriade/Obokun Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives ahead of the 2027 general election in Osun State. He was one of the campaign’s most visible public voices, defending Adeleke, attacking APC campaign arguments and communicating the campaign’s positions to the media. During the campaign he repeatedly responded to APC accusations and controversies, including disputes over security, arrests and alleged political violence. In the final days, he called for a peaceful and impartial election and sought security assurances from the police. He has described Governor Ademola Adeleke’s victory in the Osun State governorship election as “the Lord’s doing” and a manifestation of the will of the people. Olajengbesi, who spoke shortly after the declaration of the results, said the outcome demonstrated that Adeleke remained the preferred choice of the people of Osun State. “I am super excited. This is the Lord’s doing. This is the manifestation of God’s hand. This is the will of the people of Osun State,” he said. According to him, the election had affirmed Adeleke’s performance in office and secured a renewed mandate from the electorate. “I am glad because this election has clearly shown that Governor Ademola Adeleke is the man of the people. This election has justified that Mr Governor has performed very well. The people of Osun State have renewed the mandate by supporting him as the Governor of Osun State,” Olajengbesi said. ACCORD PARTY With Adeleke’s victory, the Accord Party has just won its first governorship seat in Nigeria. Accord emerged as a registered Nigerian political party in the 2000s. It became nationally more visible around the 2011 general elections, when former Oyo State governor, now Olubadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, left the PDP and joined Accord to contest the Oyo governorship. Ladoja was Accord Party’s governorship candidate in the 2011 and 2015 elections but lost on both occasions. In 2017, Ladoja defected from Accord to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and confirmed his defection. In his goodwill message, Ladoja said the state must retrace its steps from its mistakes to regain dominance of the Southwest. “Once upon a time, this great party
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