The counting of votes has begun in the ongoing governorship election in Osun State with the official ward results indicating that the ruling All Progressives Congress and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party are in a tight race.
Of the 15 political parties that participated in the election, APC’s Governor Gboyega Oyetola and the candidate of the PDP, Ademola Adeleke, are the top contenders.
This is the second time the two candidates would be vying against each other.
In 2018, Oyetola and Adeleke contested the Osun governorship seat, but the APC candidate won after a controversial rerun.
At the end of the rerun election which took place in seven units, Oyetola won seven, polling 255,505 while Adeleke won only one unit scored a total votes of 255,023.
Adeleke had led Oyetola with 353 votes at the end of the first round of ballots, but at the end of the rerun, Oyetola won with 482 votes.
Some of the ward results are from Osogbo, Boripe, Ayedire, Ifedayo, Irewole, Ede, Olorunda, and Ife.
A total of 15 political parties are participating in the election, while 1,955,657 registered voters will decide the fate of the candidates.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had also said the election would take place in 332 registration areas across the 30 local government areas of the state.
I’ll win -Oyetola
Governor Adegboyega Oyetola expressed confidence that he would win the governorship election after casting his vote at Unit 2, Ward 1, LA Primary School, Popo, Iragbiji in Boripe Local Government Area.
Oyetola, who arrived at the polling unit in company of his wife, Kafayat, cast his vote at exactly 10.55 a.m, three minutes after his wife voted.
The governor said he was happy with the turnout of voters, especially at his polling unit.
He said the election process was transparent, adding that this encouraged voters to come out en-masse to vote.
His polling unit had 1,457 registered voters.
I’ll be next Osun governor -Adeleke
Adeleke also expressed confidence in becoming the next governor of Osun State.
The PDP gov candidate cast his vote at 8.50 a.m at Ward 2 polling Unit 9 in Ede North Local Government area of Osun.
Adeleke commended INEC for making the accreditation processes and voting smooth and easy.
He also commended the security personnel for their commitment towards ensuring the safety of lives and property in the ongoing governorship election.
Ede North has a total registered voter of 71, 750 for the governorship election, with 151 polling units and 11 registration areas.
Also, Ede South has 54, 880 registration voters, with 89 polling units and 10 registration areas.