Osun Election: Heavy Security At INEC Office Ahead Of Collation

Security operatives, including the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the military, have beefed up security at the State headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It was gathered that security operatives guarding the premises sought identification from individuals before granting them access to the facility.

The security operatives blocked motorcyclists and other unapproved vehicles from gaining access to roads close to the electoral umpire’s office.

Also, youths who had earlier gathered around the premises were peacefully dispersed by the security operatives.

Meanwhile, the Accord Party appears set to retain control of Osun State, as incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke holds a commanding lead of over 66,000 votes over his closest rival, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, in Saturday’s governorship election.

According to Daily Post, a collation of results captured from INEC’s Form EC8A across polling units in the state shows Adeleke’s Accord Party with 491,975 votes, or 51.9 per cent of the count, comfortably ahead of Oyebamiji and the APC, who have polled 425,731 votes, representing 44.9 per cent.

The figures put the governor’s lead at 66,244 votes, based on returns declared from 3,633 of the 3,763 polling units spread across Osun’s 30 local government areas.

Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) trails well behind the two frontrunners, garnering 16,513 votes, or 1.7 per cent of the total.

The remaining candidates on the ballot shared roughly 14,500 votes among themselves, with none posing a serious challenge to the top two parties.