With 13 political parties fielding candidates for Saturday’s governorship election, the race for the Osun State Government House has entered its decisive phase.
Across the state’s 30 local government areas, the candidates are criss-crossing communities, selling their records, programmes and political promises to voters ahead of the poll.
Although 14 candidates were initially on the ballot, barely a week before the election, Adesina Adeyemi-Doro, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), withdrew from the contest and endorsed the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji. Mr Adeyemi-Doro will still be on the ballot despite his withdrawal.
The contest has increasingly taken the shape of a three-way battle involving incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, Mr Oyebamiji of the APC, and Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
About 2.4 million people are eligible to vote at the 3,763 polling units, spread across the 332 wards in the 30 councils, for their preferred candidates on Saturday. The voters have a coterie of candidates drawn from different professions and endeavours of life to choose from. Among them are accountants, administrators, social scientists, bankers, economists, entrepreneurs, medical practitioners, estate developers and others.
Here are the 13 candidates on INEC’s list from whom voters will choose who will govern them for the next four years, beginning on 27 November.
Ademola Adeleke (Accord)
Ademola Adeleke, the incumbent governor and former senator, is a businessman and administrator. He was born on 13 May 1960 in Enugu, south-east Nigeria. His mother was Igbo from Abia State, while his father, a former senator, hailed from Ede in Osun State.
Mr Adeleke attended Jacksonville State University, Alabama, United States, where he majored in criminal justice and minored in political science. But after much controversy, he got enrolled at Atlanta Metropolitan State College, also in the US, where he earned a BSc in criminal justice in 2021.
He was executive director of Guinness Nigeria Plc and group executive director of Pacific Holdings Ltd.
Mr Adeleke hails from a political family. His father, Ayoola Adeleke, was a Second Republic senator, representing Oyo East on the platform of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). His late elder brother, Isiaka Adeleke, was the first executive governor of Osun and a former senator, while his younger brother, Adedeji Adeleke, is a businessman and founder of Adeleke University.
The governor is also the uncle of Nigerian musician David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido.
Mr Adeleke became governor in 2022 after defeating the incumbent, Gboyega Oyetola, in a keenly contested election. He secured 403,371 votes to Oyetola’s 375,027 and won in 17 of the state’s 30 local government areas.
The victory was particularly significant because Messrs Adeleke and Oyetola had previously faced each other in the 2018 governorship contest, which Mr Oyetola won by a very narrow margin.
Before becoming governor, the 66-year-old represented Osun West District in the Senate from 2017 to 2019. His entry into electoral politics was also closely linked to the influence of the Adeleke family.
The family connection remains an important part of his political identity.
Mr Adeleke’s political rise has therefore combined personal popularity, family name recognition and grassroots mobilisation.
Bola Oyebamiji (APC)
Bola Oyebamiji, aged 60, popularly known as AMBO, is a banker, economist, public administrator and politician from Ikire in Irewole Local Government Area of Osun State.
Mr Oyebamiji holds an OND and HND in banking and finance from The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State and later obtained a master’s degree in Public Administration from Lagos State University.
He bagged another master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Ado-Ekiti.
He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.
His career spans the private and public sectors. He worked in the banking industry before moving into government and became the managing director of the Osun State Investment Company, now associated with Omoluabi Holdings.
He subsequently served as Commissioner for Finance under the administrations of former Governor Rauf Aregbesola and his successor, Gboyega Oyetola. His long involvement in managing the state’s finances has made fiscal management a central component of his political profile.
His public-service career later extended beyond Osun. President Bola Tinubu appointed him managing director and chief executive officer of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) in 2023. He resigned from the position in November 2025 to pursue the governorship race.
His political profile is also closely connected to the APC establishment in Osun. His years in government under Messrs Aregbesola and Oyetola place him within the political structure that controlled the state before Adeleke’s victory in 2022.
Najeem Salaam (ADC)
Najeem Salaam, 61, hails from Ejigbo. The man, popularly called “Iwaloye,” holds a doctorate in political science from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
He is an author, having co-authored a book, Rudiments of Government and Politics. It is a textbook used by students studying government and politics.
The ADC candidate is a former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly and a long-standing grassroots politician. He served as Speaker during the administration of former Governor Rauf Aregbesola and became a prominent figure within the progressive political bloc in Osun.
Mr Salaam’s emergence is significant because he represents a third political platform in a race otherwise dominated by the rivalry between Mr Adeleke and the APC.
His political strength comes largely from his long experience in Osun politics and his association with Mr Aregbesola, under whom he served as Speaker.
He has promised to prioritise workers’ welfare, education, youth empowerment, security, local enterprise and public confidence in government. He has also made electricity one of the key issues in his campaign, saying he has been engaging investors and stakeholders in the power sector to seek solutions to the state’s electricity challenges.
Olanrewaju Farinloye (AA)
Olanrewaju Farinloye is the candidate of the Action Alliance (AA). At 40, he is among the youngest candidates in the race.
INEC’s final list records his qualifications as the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and the Certificate in Commercial and Economic Studies (CCECS). He is contesting alongside his deputy, Fadahunsi Olaniyi.
Olajide Esan (AAC)
Olajide Esan, 39, is one of the youngest candidates in the race. He is an entrepreneur and car dealer and emerged as the African Action Congress (AAC) candidate through a consensus arrangement at the party’s primary in December 2025.
Mr Esan is also a geographer. He studied at Osun State University, where he obtained a degree, and has described his professional interests as including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial analysis and entrepreneurship. He has presented himself as a youth-oriented candidate and is popularly associated with the description “Youth Governor.”
His campaign has focused on economic diversification, agriculture, mining, and technology, as well as reducing the state’s dependence on federal allocations. His deputy is Bello Yekeen.
Yemisi Opawoye (ADP)
Yemisi Opawoye is the African Democratic Party (ADP) candidate and the only woman in the governorship race.
INEC records her qualification as a Bachelor of Education. She spent her professional life as an academic and is a retired school principal.
At 84, she is also the oldest candidate on the final list. Her candidacy adds an unusual dimension to the race, given both her age and experience in education.
She is paired with 43-year-old Atanda Babatunde as the deputy governorship candidate.
Adewale Adebayo (APM)
Adewale Adebayo is a prominent real estate developer and CEO of Tri Edge Real Estate.
He studied the mechanics of public administration and economic policy and is a former chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Osun State.
He served as the immediate past Osun State Chairman for the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), managing state-level party structures and grassroots organisation. In June, Mr Adebayoe received the endorsement of former Osun Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola and members of the Kabiru Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.
Jimoh Naheem is his deputy governorship running mate.
Clement Adesuyi (APP)
Clement Adesuyi is the governorship candidate of the Action Peoples Party. He emerged as the party’s candidate in December 2025 after being the sole aspirant at the party’s primary. He secured the affirmation of 39 delegates.
His manifesto is centred on the promise of transforming the state through investment in youth empowerment, health, education and infrastructure.
Masilo Adeleke (BP)
Masilo Adeleke is the Boot Party candidate.
He is a graduate of the University of Ilorin and contested the 2023 senatorial election but lost.
The party selected Aresa Adenike as its running mate
Taofeek Adeleke (NNPP)
Taofeek Adeleke is the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) candidate known for advocating inclusive governance, human-centred leadership, and grassroots development.
His campaign has placed considerable emphasis on education, healthcare, security and infrastructure. In July, he described education as one of the foundations of sustainable development and said his campaign was built around an “Education for All” message.
He is contesting alongside Adeyera Adesola as his running mate.
Saliu Oyelami (PRP)
Saliu Oyelami, popularly known as Orisunlagba, is the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) candidate.
He is a medical doctor with more than two decades of experience in medical practice. His professional career has included work at Osogbo Muslim Hospital and the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, as well as medical practice in Taraba State.
Mr Oyelami is also the chief medical director of Shifauk Hospital Group.
His educational background includes studies at the University of Ilorin and the International University of Africa in Khartoum, as well as training in journalism at the International Institute of Journalism in Abuja.
The PRP candidate was a prominent governorship aspirant under the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in 2018, but he stepped down for another candidate before the final ballot.
In 2022, he also contested the Osun State gubernatorial election as the candidate for the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
His running mate is Adewale Solomon.
Olalekan Ogunsakin (YPP)
Olalekan Ogunsakin is the Young Progressives Party candidate, with Taye Oyetola as his running mate.
Outside of politics, he describes himself as an accomplished Nigerian-American physician-scientist, pathologist, board-certified toxicologist, and medical educator.
He earned a medical degree from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, with a focus on healthcare awareness.
He also obtained a PhD from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, specialising in pulmonary system research and earning the prestigious Tulane 34 award.
Olufemi Adesuyi (ZLP)
Olufemi Adesuyi is the Zenith Labour Party candidate, with Abdulsalam Olamide as his running mate.
He is a registered building contractor based in Akure, Ondo State. He operates Engr Adefemi Adesuyi Building Contractors, a business specialising in interior and exterior structural detailing, home ceilings, painting, wall screeding, and Plaster of Paris (POP) installations.
What voters are saying
While political parties and candidates are presenting their respective programmes, voters are assessing the contenders based on what they believe each candidate can offer the state.
For Bolanle Waheed, the APC candidate is the strongest among the major contenders because of his perceived relationship with the federal government.
“Among the major candidates contesting the Osun governorship election, I consider the APC candidate the strongest because I believe he has the backing of the President. I think this could give him better access to federal support and opportunities that could benefit Osun State,” Mr Waheed told PREMIUM TIMES.
However, he said the most pressing issue for him is the lack of employment opportunities in the state.
“The biggest issue I want the next governor of Osun State to address is unemployment and the lack of employment opportunities,” he said.
Mr Waheed said the next administration should focus on attracting companies and industries to Osun to create jobs for residents.
“I believe the government should focus on attracting and establishing companies and industries in the state to create more jobs for citizens, as many people are currently unemployed,” he said.
Despite his preference for Mr Oyebamiji, Mr Waheed said the candidate’s association with previous APC administrations gives him some reservations.
“Although the APC candidate has experience from serving in both the Aregbesola and Oyetola administrations, I have some concerns about this,” he said.
“The Oyetola administration was not favourable to many people in Osun State, and since the APC candidate was part of that administration, I am not completely convinced that he would do much differently from his former boss.
“However, I still think his experience and relationship with the federal government could be useful if he genuinely prioritises job creation and economic development.”
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For Biodun Ogunlana, however, the incumbent governor remains the strongest candidate.
“Among the major candidates contesting the Osun governorship election, I consider Ademola Adeleke the strongest,” Mr Ogunlana told PREMIUM TIMES.
He attributed Mr Adeleke’s advantage to incumbency, name recognition and his grassroots network.
“On incumbency and popularity, Adeleke is widely seen as having the advantage of incumbency, name recognition and a strong grassroots base, especially in Osun West,” he said.
“He defeated an incumbent in 2022, which is often cited as evidence of his electoral strength.”
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