Governor Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party won the Oyo governorship election held on Saturday after defeating his closest rival, Teslim Folarin of the All Progressives Congress, by a wide margin.

Mr Makinde comfortably won 31 out of the 33 local governments in the state and was returned elected. Sixteen candidates took part in the election.

State returning officer for the Independent National Electoral Commission Adebayo Bamire, the vice chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, announced at the INEC headquarters in Ibadan that Mr Makinde garnered 563,756 votes to beat Mr Folarin, who polled 256,685.

Adebayo Adelabu of the Accord Party came a distant third with 38,357 votes.

Satisfied with the turnout of voters and the relatively peaceful atmosphere across the state during the poll, Mr Makinde will be sworn into office on May 29 this year to oversee the affairs of the state for the next four years.