The Reset Nigeria Movement has described the outcome of the Osun State governorship election as a triumph of the people’s will over the political establishment, saying the result has reaffirmed the power of the electorate to determine who governs them.

The movement, in a statement by its national coordinator, Osi Iwenekhai, on Sunday, congratulated the people of Osun State for what it described as their resilience, courage and steadfastness throughout the electoral process.

It said the outcome of Saturday’s election was a powerful reminder that democracy ultimately belonged to the people and that Nigerians should not lose faith in their capacity to influence the direction of governance through the ballot.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, winner of the election after he polled 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 444,815 votes.
Adeleke won by a margin of 66,252 votes, with the governor securing victory in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won in 11.

Reacting to the result, the Reset Nigeria Movement said the election had demonstrated that no political establishment was invincible when citizens became determined to exercise their democratic rights.

“Every political establishment appears unbeatable until the people decide otherwise,” the movement said.

It commended the people of Osun for resisting what it described as political pressure and remaining committed to the electoral process, stressing that the outcome should be viewed beyond the victory of an individual candidate or political party.

According to the movement, the election underscored the importance of the electorate in shaping the political future of the country.

It said the Osun experience should serve as a lesson to political actors who might assume that party structures, political influence and institutional power could permanently determine electoral outcomes.

“The outcome is a powerful reminder that democracy ultimately belongs to the people,” the movement said, urging Nigerians to remain confident in their ability to determine the direction of their communities, states and country.

The group further said the Osun election had implications beyond the state, particularly as political parties and their leaders prepare for the 2027 general elections.

It urged political actors to respect the electorate, strengthen democratic institutions and recognise that political legitimacy could only be sustained through the consent of the people.

The movement also called on the political class to reflect on the lessons from Osun and make the welfare, aspirations and interests of citizens the centrepiece of governance.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, polled 17,180 votes to finish third, according to the results announced by INEC. The commission recorded 1,010,684 accredited voters and 985,079 valid votes in the election.

The Reset Nigeria Movement maintained that the Osun verdict had reaffirmed a fundamental principle of democracy: that political power ultimately derives from the people and must be exercised in accordance with their mandate.