Governor Ademola Adeleke will defend his seat against 13 challengers, led by APC’s Bola Oyebamiji, as parties begin the race for Osun’s 2.3 million votes. The election pits incumbency and grassroots structure against the opposition and new entrants, all targeting the same voter base, writes JOSHUA DADA On 15 August 2026, two million, three hundred and thirty-nine thousand, two hundred and thirty-three (2,339,233) voters will go to the polls to determine who occupies Bola Ige House, the seat of the Osun State government, for another four years. No fewer than 14 political parties are already warming up through door-to-door, ward-to-ward, constituency-to-constituency and statewide campaigns to canvass for votes on the day of the deal. According to the release issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the electoral umpire, the contestants are: Accord Party (A): Ademola Adeleke; Action Alliance (AC): Farinloye Olarenwaju; African Action Congress (AAC): Esan Olajide; African Democratic Congress (ADC): Najeem Salam. Also on the list are: African Democratic Party (ADP): Adeagbo Opawoye; All Progressives Congress (APC): Bola Oyebamiji; All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA): Adesina Adeyemi-Doro; Allied People Movement (APM): Adewale Adebayo. Others include: Action Peoples Party (APP): Clement Adesuyi, Boot Party (BP): Masilo Adeleke, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP): Taofeek Adeleke, Peoples Redemption Party (PRP): Saliu Oyelami, Young Progressives Party (YPP): Ogunsakin Olalekan, and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP): Adefemi Adesuyi. The 2,339,233 eligible voters for the election were disclosed in a document titled “tagged Analysis of Register Of Voters”, signed by Osun INEC Director of Voter Registry, Olatunde Olalere, and made available to political parties on 9 July 2026. At a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the state commissioner of police, Ibrahim Gotan, to stem the trend of political violence in the state, he urged political actors to strongly discourage all forms of thuggery, gangsterism, and the recruitment or sponsorship of political thugs. His words: “Violence and intimidation have no place in a democratic society. Political leaders should caution their supporters against acts that could disrupt public peace and refrain from providing support, encouragement, or protection to individuals who engage in criminal conduct”. He charged political parties and candidates with ensuring that the police and other relevant security agencies are notified in advance of any rally, campaign, procession, or political gathering, and added that the destruction, defacement, or removal of opponents’ billboards, banners, posters, and other campaign materials must stop. At the meeting, a political party representative who lamented the absence of the APC and the Accord Party drew his colleagues’ ire when he referred to the absent parties as ‘major political parties’. The governorship candidate of Boot Party (BP), Chief Masilo Adeleke, insisted that other parties are as major as the two parties, adding that his party will emerge the winner of the contest. However, political observers believe, at least for now, that the race centres on the candidates of the Accord Party, the incumbent governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke; the All Progressives Congress candidate, Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji; and the African Democratic Congress candidate, Dr Najeem Salam. Although the three candidates appear more rooted in the nooks and crannies of the state and have the backing of political chieftains across the state, the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) candidate, Adefemi Adesuyi, said that Osun people are tired of the ‘so-called major parties’ because they have failed them. Adesuyi, who promised to improve on the performance of his predecessors, said Osun is endowed with economic and human resources capable of transforming the welfare and infrastructure of the Osun people. However, all the political parties are strategising on how to win over the Osun electorate to their side by reaching out to various groups and even donating and distributing largesse to woo voters. In their characteristic manner, these political parties, especially the two frontline parties, the APC and the Accord Party, have continued to point the finger at one another over the spate of violent killings in the state and the alleged plan to rig the election. The Accord party, through its secretary, Pastor Victor Akande, accused the All Progressives Congress of planning to rig the election. At the same time, Hon. Wole Oke, the director of the APC campaign committee, insisted that the Accord party was speaking out of frustration at the imminent loss of power. On the part of the electoral umpire, which has consistently pledged to conduct free, fair and credible elections, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, assured the people of Osun of the Commission’s readiness to conduct elections that meet the highest stan
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