ABUJA — Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke on Thursday presented his certificate of return to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, days after securing a second term in office.
Adeleke arrived at Aso Villa at about 5:25pm for a closed-door meeting with the President, marking his first reported face-to-face meeting with Tinubu since the August 15 governorship election.
The governor was dressed in navy blue traditional attire and arrived in a black Toyota Land Cruiser, accompanied by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
Photographs from the meeting showed Adeleke and Tinubu exchanging handshakes before the governor presented his certificate of return.
Presidential media aide Dada Olusegun said Adeleke led a delegation to the Presidential Villa to express appreciation to Tinubu following his victory.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu receives in audience a delegation led by Gov Ademola Adeleke, as he presents his certificate of return to Mr President and gives gratitude for success at the just concluded August 15 governorship election in Osun State,” Olusegun said.
The visit comes after a politically charged Osun election in which Adeleke, contesting under the Accord Party, defeated the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke winner after he secured 511,067 votes, compared with Oyebamiji’s 444,815 votes. African Democratic Congress candidate Najeem Salaam came third with 17,180 votes.
Adeleke won 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11.
The victory secured Adeleke another four-year term after his first election as governor in 2022, when he defeated then-incumbent Gboyega Oyetola of the APC.
Adeleke received his certificate of return from INEC in Osogbo on Wednesday.
At the presentation, he announced plans to establish a N500 million Election Violence Victims Endowment Fund for verified victims and families affected by electoral violence.
The governor said the intervention would be administered through a verification and relief committee chaired by Osun State House of Assembly Speaker Adewale Olumide Egbedun.
He said the support would be humanitarian rather than political, with eligible victims to be considered regardless of political affiliation.
Adeleke has also called for peace following weeks of political tension surrounding the election, urging residents and political actors to move beyond the contest and focus on rebuilding Osun State.
Tinubu had earlier congratulated Adeleke after the election, describing the result as an affirmation of democracy and urging the governor to work toward uniting the state.
The meeting between the two politicians comes against the backdrop of Nigeria’s emerging 2027 political calculations.
Adeleke contested the Osun election under the Accord Party after previously winning the governorship on the PDP platform, while Tinubu remains the leader of the APC at the federal level.
Despite their different party affiliations, Adeleke has publicly expressed support for Tinubu’s bid for another term in the 2027 presidential election.
The latest meeting places that political relationship under fresh attention as Adeleke prepares for his second term and national political actors begin positioning ahead of 2027.
