From John Dike, Osogbo

The presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has won the election in Osun State.

Atiku won in 20 local government areas with a total of 354,366 votes, to defeat his closest rival, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 343,945 votes and won in 10 local governments.

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, came third in the race with a total of 23,283 votes, followed by Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), who scored 713 votes.

The results were announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) State Collation Officer, Professor Folashade Ogunsola.

Ogunsola, who revealed that the total votes cast were 756744, noted that a total of 733,203 votes were considered valid votes, while a total of 23,541 votes were rejected.

In his immediate reaction after the results were announced, Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, celebrated the massive win of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the presidential and National Assembly elections, calling for further mobilization for a repeat victory at the State Assembly elections.

Addressing party loyalists from Ede Federal Constituency led by the newly re-elected House of Representatives member, Bamidele Sallam, Governor Adeleke expressed appreciation to the people of Osun state for reaffirming their faith in his governorship mandate by voting for PDP last Saturday, promising to continue the urgent task of saving Osun from under-development.

“On behalf of all elected National Assembly candidates, I convey our gratitude to the people of Osun state. You just repeated our landmark victory of July 16, 2022. You have proved to the world that our governorship victory last year was real and a true reflection of the will of the people.

“In 2022, we defeated them with a margin of twenty seven thousand plus. Equally high margin was repeated to win at these federal elections. Our people reconfirmed their faith and trust in my leadership. I am grateful to the good people of Osun state”, the State Governor stated.

Promising that the PDP will not disappoint the trust of the people, Senator Adeleke said the outcome of the polls was unprecedented and will spur him to expand his delivery of good governance and responsiveness to the aspirations of the people.

He however called on the party leadership and supporters not to relent in the mobilization drive ahead of the March 11 state assembly elections, urging “continuous drive to deliver all the state Assembly candidates.

“Don’t relax in your mobilization drive. We must elect all PDP candidates as members of the House of Assembly. To the people of Osun state, vote for PDP candidates come March 11. The job is not complete until we have PDP elected officials at all levels”, Governor Adeleke noted.

Also addressing the crowd of party faithfuls, the South West Director for Women Mobilisation of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Council, Yeyeluwa Modupe Adeleke-Sani expressed the joy and thankfulness of the Campaign Council for the massive support the PDP enjoyed on Saturday.

“On behalf of our campaign council and the President-in-waiting, we thank the Osun people for voting for PDP candidates. This outcome is unprecedented. We take judicious note of this solidarity and endorsement. We will not fail you”, Yeye Modupe Adeleke-Sani posited.

The re-elected House of Representatives member, Hon Sallam had earlier appreciated the pivotal role of the State Governor and the Adeleke family in the total victory of the PDP family , commending the Adeleke family for leading the party on an historical win.

“We are here in the company of our leaders to pay a thank you visit to His Excellency and the entire Adeleke family. We are victorious because of God, the Adelekes and good people of our federal constituency. We will not disappoint the trust our leadership placed in us.

“We also pledge not to relent in our mobilisation ahead of the March 11 State Assembly elections. With our Governor behind us, we will again deliver victory across our state constituencies”, Hon Sallam promised.

The PDP had won all the three senatorial districts and the nine federal constituencies in the Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections in Osun state.