Governor Ademola Adeleke's path to the Osun State governorship has been marked by a 482-vote loss in 2018, a disputed rerun, a court-ordered removal in 2023, and a final Supreme Court restoration. Now, as the Accord Party candidate, he seeks a second term in Saturday's election.
The 2018 Election That Nearly Was
Adeleke first ran for governor in 2018 on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform, facing All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Gboyega Oyetola. According to The Punch, Adeleke polled 254,698 votes against Oyetola's 254,345, a lead of just 353 votes. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the election inconclusive after cancelling 3,498 votes across polling units in Ife North, Ife South, and Orolu Local Government Areas.
The Returning Officer, Prof. Joseph Fuwape, explained that because the gap between the two leading candidates was smaller than the number of cancelled votes, INEC had no choice but to call the election inconclusive and schedule a rerun.
The rerun took place on September 27, 2018, across four local government areas. Oyetola won it convincingly, collecting 1,160 votes to Adeleke's 325. Those additional votes reversed Adeleke's lead, with the final tally showing Oyetola on 255,505 votes against Adeleke's 255,023 — a margin of just 482 votes.
Speaking through his brother, Dele Adeleke, the PDP candidate refused to accept the outcome: "Adeleke's mandate can't be stolen; it will be retrieved. The wish of the people will stand at the end."
Comeback in 2022 and Legal Battles
Adeleke returned in 2022, again facing Oyetola, who was by then the sitting governor. The rematch produced a decisively different result. On July 16, 2022, Adeleke polled 403,371 votes against Oyetola's 375,027, winning 17 of the state's 30 local government areas to Oyetola's 13, a margin of 28,344 votes. Returning Officer Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe declared Adeleke the winner, and he was sworn in as governor on November 27, 2022.
Oyetola and the APC moved to the Election Petitions Tribunal, alleging irregularities. In January 2023, the tribunal annulled Adeleke's victory, deducted votes it considered tainted by over-voting, and declared Oyetola the winner on a recalculated basis. Adeleke called the ruling a "miscarriage of justice" and said it represented "an unfair interpretation against the will of the majority of voters." He appealed immediately.
The Court of Appeal overturned the tribunal's ruling and restored Adeleke as governor. Oyetola escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, which in March 2023 upheld Adeleke's victory and brought the protracted legal dispute to a close.
2026 Election and Adeleke's Confidence
Adeleke now seeks re-election, this time as the Accord Party candidate. Among those challenging him is the APC's Bola Oyebamiji, as Osun State prepares to return to the polls on Saturday. Governor Adeleke has declared he is not worried about facing the APC's 34 governors in the upcoming election, saying the governors are his friends but cannot cast votes in Osun State. He made these remarks at the Arise Town Hall, and his comments drew mixed reactions online, with some Osun residents backing him and others criticising his record in office.
In the 2022 election, INEC figures showed Adeleke polled 403,371 votes, with Oyetola finishing second with 375,027 votes. A total of 804,450 valid votes were cast across the five candidates who contested that election.
