News Express

OSUN HAS SPOKEN: ADELEKE WON THE VOTE, BUT NIGERIA MUST LISTEN TO THE MESSAGE By Destiny Tamunoala Emmanuel The dust may be settling on the Osun governorship election, but the message from the ballot box is only just beginning to echo across the country. Governor Ademola Adeleke has secured another four years in office, defeating the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, in an election that turned out to be far more than a contest between two political parties. Adeleke, flying the flag of the Accord Party, polled 511,067 votes against Oyebamiji’s 444,815, winning 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas. But perhaps the most interesting part of the Osun story is not simply that Adeleke won. It is how he won. The election was preceded by weeks of political tension, allegations of violence, intimidation and vote buying. On election day itself, reports from the field recorded pockets of violence and alleged inducement, even as observers also described substantial voter t...