In 2026, Osun State will have its next governorship election. Large natural landscapes and a rich cultural legacy may be found in Osun, a southwestern state with a Yoruba majority.

Each of the three federal senatorial districts that make up Osun is made up of two administrative zones. The state is made up of 30 area offices and local government areas (LGAs), which are Nigeria’s main (third-tier) governmental units.

As the 2026 governorship election in Osun approaches, political activity in the state is heating up gradually

Both the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the opposition, the All Progressives Congress (APC), are gearing up for a fierce contest

With a year remaining in Ademola Adeleke’s term, NEWSWORLD highlights the various challenges and obstacles staring the governor in the face

NEWSWORLD identifies a few elements in this study that could lead to the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, losing.

1) The Osun PDP is tense

Oluwole Oke, a lawmaker for the Ijesa North federal constituency in the house of representatives, accused Governor Adeleke of ignoring the Ijesa people, suggesting that a crisis is simmering inside the PDP’s Osun state chapter.

Oke, a fifth-term PDP member and the chairman of the house committee on international affairs, claimed Adeleke had abandoned the Ijesa North area since winning the 2022 gubernatorial election.

In a recent Facebook post titled “Ijesa North People Are Not Stupid,” Oke listed the former administrations’ accomplishments to the area. The lawmaker, however, criticized Governor Adeleke’s administration, saying that the only obvious effect of it in his constituency—which includes the local governments of Obokun and Oriade—was a 1.5-kilometer road in each location.

He charged that the governor had neglected the area’s appointments and development.
claims that PDP heavyweights, including Senator Francis Fadahunsi and former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, are concerned about the friction between Governor Adeleke and Oke.

2) Alleged discontent with the PDP’s leadership

According to the opposition, the PDP government in Osun is having difficulty proving its ability to rule. It claimed that this gives the opposition “a clear opportunity” to overthrow Adeleke’s rule.

3) The purported violations of Adeleke

Adeleke has not contributed any “acceptable value” to the state’s standing, according to a statement released earlier in January by the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osun branch. Kola Olabisi, the party’s director of communication and media, stated:

The right-thinking members of society who have been keeping an eye on his actions and inactions are sufficiently convinced that the current administration has not added any acceptable value to the status of the state beyond its driver strangely dancing where he is supposed to display in-depth knowledge and tact, so Governor Adeleke knows in his heart that he does not, in any way, merit an extension of his tenure beyond 2026, given the egregious infractions that have come to characterize his administration.

Adeleke accepts the uncle’s stand-in as ruler of Ijesha.

Clement Adesuyi Haastrup, a former deputy governor of Osun state, was earlier designated the Owa-Obokun-elect from the Bilaro ruling house, according to a report by NEWSWORLD. The current governor’s uncle, the late Governor Isiaka Adeleke, was replaced by Haastrup.

This arises when Oba Gabriel Aromolaran’s death in September 2024, after an incredible 42-year reign, left the throne empty. The choosing of a new king was made possible by the high chiefs’ subsequent declaration of a period of mourning.