Olamilekan Abayomi
Governor Ademola Adeleke has secured a second term as Osun State Governor after defeating Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress in the August 15, 2026 governorship election. The poll was held across all 30 local government areas of the state, with the Independent National Electoral Commission clearing 14 candidates for the race. What made the contest stand out was that Adeleke sought re-election on the platform of the Accord Party, having defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, the platform that first brought him to power in 2022.
The election turned into a fierce three-way battle in Osun West Senatorial District, where all the major contenders came from. Adeleke is from Ede North LGA, Oyebamiji hails from Irewole LGA, and the ADC candidate, Najeem Salaam, comes from Ejigbo LGA. Political observers noted that this geographical concentration made voter mobilization within Osun West critical, and it also meant that grassroots networks and local influence played a bigger role than party symbols alone. For the first time in recent years, neither the PDP nor Labour Party fielded candidates, which reshaped alliances and forced voters to look beyond traditional party lines.
Adeleke ran his campaign around continuity and performance. He told supporters and religious groups at the Government House in Osogbo that his first term delivered on infrastructure, workers’ welfare, and social development, and that he deserved another four years to consolidate those gains. His administration promised to expand its five-point agenda into a reloaded version, with more focus on youth, women, and workers, while deepening agro-industrial projects, improving healthcare and education, and creating a better environment for businesses and jobs. He also pointed to federal projects like the Ilesa-Ife-Ibadan expressway rehabilitation as evidence that his alignment with the center was yielding results for Osun.
Oyebamiji, the immediate past Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority, campaigned on the strength of APC’s structure and campaign resources. His supporters highlighted his 16 years of experience in public service and his knowledge of public finance as key advantages. The APC also benefited from defections of some prominent PDP members, and a faction of the PDP led by former governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola publicly endorsed Oyebamiji, citing lack of inclusion in Adeleke’s government. Despite that, the Accord chairman dismissed the defectors as lacking political capital to swing voters against a governor widely acknowledged to have transformed the state.
The contest was not without tension. Adeleke and his team accused the opposition of relying on anti-democratic tactics instead of marketing themselves to voters, while describing the period before 2022 under APC as a “dark page” in Osun’s history that citizens did not want repeated. He boasted of a mass movement behind his re-election and said he would defeat Oyebamiji “by the might of God and people.” Oyebamiji’s camp, on the other hand, argued that Osun needed a change in leadership and that the APC remained the party with the capacity to deliver at both state and federal levels.
Civil society and student groups described Adeleke’s eventual victory as a resounding vote of confidence. The National Association of Nigerian Students and other observers noted that the election reflected the will of the people, and they urged the governor to focus on peace and development now that the campaign was over. The PDP in Osun also congratulated Adeleke, even as it was absent from the ballot, and called for unity in the state going forward. Abia Governor Alex Otti also hailed the poll as a testament to Nigeria’s democratic maturity.
If confirmed by INEC, Adeleke’s win makes him only the second governor in Osun’s history to secure a second term since the state was created in 1991. His path was complicated by the fact that he had to build a new political structure under Accord while still enjoying goodwill from his PDP base. He spent months consulting traditional rulers, civil servants, market leaders, and grassroots party members, and directed his team to strengthen ward structures across all 332 wards for voter mobilization. That groundwork appears to have paid off on election day.
One of the key narratives during the campaign was geography and incumbency. Critics alleged that developmental projects were concentrated around Ede, Adeleke’s hometown, while supporters argued that infrastructure upgrades were spread across towns and villages. Adeleke countered that his relationship with civil servants, artisans, and trade groups, plus his personable style, gave him an edge with ordinary voters. The fact that he would be serving his final constitutionally allowed term also appealed to some power brokers in Osun East and Central who are already eyeing 2030.
For Oyebamiji, the loss marks a setback for APC’s bid to reclaim Osun after losing it in 2022. The party had hoped that federal presence and the experience of its candidate would sway voters, but the electorate seemed to reward continuity instead. Analysts say the result also signals that party defection does not automatically erode an incumbent’s base if the governor can point to visible projects and maintain grassroots contact. Adeleke’s ability to keep the PDP caucus in Osun endorsing Tinubu for 2027 while running on Accord for 2026 further complicated the usual party arithmetic.
With the election over, attention will now shift to governance and delivery. Adeleke has pledged to redouble efforts on democratic dividends and to expand empowerment programs. He faces the task of uniting a state that saw heated campaigns, managing expectations after promising more for youth and women, and working with the federal government regardless of party differences. For Osun people, the mandate is clear: build on the first term, spread development more evenly, and prove that the vote for a second term was a vote for progress, not just personality.
