Adeleke Wins Osun Governorship; Accord Party Faces Continued Leadership Battle

The Accord Party has secured a significant political victory in the Osun governorship election, with Governor Ademola Adeleke decisively winning re-election. This outcome could bolster the party's standing ahead of the 2027 general elections, but it also brings the party's internal leadership struggles into sharper focus.

Adeleke's victory on Saturday secured his party control of Osun State for another four years. However, the election unfolded amidst a contentious leadership crisis within the Accord Party. Days before the vote, Christopher Imumolen, who heads one faction, announced his withdrawal of support for Adeleke and endorsed the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate. This declaration was immediately contested by another Accord faction led by Maxwell Mgbudem, which affirmed Adeleke as the party's legitimate candidate.

Mgbudem's faction insisted that Imumolen was no longer authorized to speak for the party and dismissed his endorsement as having no electoral value. Both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the party's National Working Committee (NWC) recognize the Maxwell Mgbudem-led structure, which supported Adeleke's candidacy.

Adeleke ultimately won the election with 511,067 votes, defeating APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who received 444,815 votes. Despite Adeleke's re-election, Imumolen has stated that the leadership dispute is far from over. Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, he declared that the Osun election result does not resolve the national party leadership issue, which he described as a separate legal matter that predates Adeleke's involvement with the party. Imumolen vowed to pursue the leadership case "to its logical and lawful conclusion" through the courts, warning against attempts to settle the dispute through election outcomes or political pressure.

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The Osun election is an election. The Accord leadership dispute is a national party and legal matter. They are two different issues.