Adebayo Adedamola has been elected as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the Osun 2026 election after securing 919 votes at the party’s primary held in Osogbo on Tuesday.
His emergence came on a day Governor Ademola Adeleke, who recently resigned from the party, was absent from the venue even though his name still appeared on the ballot.
Announcing the results, the chairman of the primary committee, Humphrey Abba, said twenty votes were void, adding that the withdrawal of one of the aspirants had been communicated earlier.
He declared, “The candidate that got the remaining votes is Adebayo Adedamola with 919 votes and stands elected and returned.”
The primary went ahead amid concerns after PUNCH Online reported that Adeleke’s name remained on the ballot despite his resignation. Voting commenced shortly after delegate accreditation ended around 11.35 a.m., supervised by the committee secretary, Sunday Solarin.
According to Solarin, only Adeleke and Adebayo were listed as aspirants, though Adeleke’s departure from the party meant votes cast in his favour would “eventually amount to waste.”
Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission and a delegation from the PDP national headquarters led by Humphrey Abba monitored the exercise.
Security operatives from the DSS, police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps mounted visible presence at the entrance and exit of the venue.
Adeleke’s resignation letter, dated November 4, 2025, and addressed to Sagba Abogunde, PDP Ward 2 Chairman in Ede North, was obtained in the early hours of Tuesday. In the letter, he wrote that the party’s national leadership crisis had forced him to step aside.
“I hereby resign my membership of the PDP with immediate effect. I thank the People’s Democratic Party for the opportunities given to me,” the letter read.
His spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, confirmed the resignation. The development followed earlier signals from the party’s leadership that Adeleke might not be seeking the party’s ticket for the 2026 poll unless the internal dispute was resolved.
Speaking on Monday, Osun PDP Chairman Sunday Bisi said the crisis had already disrupted the initial schedule for the primary.
INEC’s timetable requires that political parties submit the names of their candidates for the August 8, 2026 governorship election no later than December 15.
