_August 14, 2026 | 6:15 pm_
As Osun heads to the polls on Saturday, Governor Ademola Adeleke’s path to the Government House has been defined by a narrow defeat, a controversial rerun, a legal battle, and a major comeback.
Adeleke, now the Accord Party candidate, first ran for governor in 2018 under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
That election produced one of the closest races in Osun’s history between Adeleke and the APC candidate, Adegboyega Oyetola.
At the initial count, Adeleke led with 254,698 votes to Oyetola’s 254,345 votes — a margin of just 353 votes.
However, INEC declared the election inconclusive after cancelling 3,498 votes in Ife North, Ife South and Orolu LGAs.
The Returning Officer, Prof Joseph Fuwape, said the decision was due to the fact that the margin between the two leading candidates was smaller than the cancelled votes.
A rerun was then scheduled in seven polling units across four LGAs on September 27, 2018.
*The rerun that swung it*
Oyetola won the rerun with 1,160 votes to Adeleke’s 325 votes. The additional votes wiped out Adeleke’s initial lead.
When the final results were collated, Oyetola had 255,505 votes while Adeleke had 255,023 votes — a difference of just 482 votes. Oyetola was declared governor-elect.
Adeleke rejected the outcome. Speaking through his brother, Dele Adeleke, he vowed to challenge it in court.
_“Adeleke’s mandate can’t be stolen, it will be retrieved. The wish of the people will stand at the end,”_ he said.
*The 2022 comeback*
Four years later, Adeleke returned to face Oyetola, who was then the incumbent.
In the July 16, 2022 governorship election, Adeleke polled 403,371 votes to defeat Oyetola who scored 375,027 votes.
Adeleke won 17 of the 30 LGAs, while Oyetola won 13, giving Adeleke a winning margin of 28,344 votes — a far cry from the 482 votes that separated them in 2018.
The Returning Officer, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, declared Adeleke winner, and he was sworn in on November 27, 2022.
*The legal battle*
But the contest didn’t end there. Oyetola and the APC challenged the result at the Election Petitions Tribunal, alleging over-voting.
In January 2023, the tribunal annulled Adeleke’s victory and declared Oyetola winner after deducting disputed votes.
Adeleke called the judgment a _“miscarriage of justice”_ and appealed.
The Court of Appeal later overturned the tribunal and reinstated Adeleke. Oyetola then approached the Supreme Court.
In March 2023, the Supreme Court upheld Adeleke’s election, ending the legal tussle.
Now, ahead of Saturday’s election, Adeleke is seeking re-election on the Accord platform. He will face APC’s Bola Oyebamiji and other candidates.
