By In what many consider a victory at last, Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been declared as the winner of the just-concluded governorship election in Osun State.
Adeleke, fondly called the ‘Dancing Senator’, polled 403,371 to defeat his old rival, the incumbent governor, Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who secured 375,027. Out of the 30 LGAs in Osun, the PDP flagbearer won 17, while the remaining 13 went to the APC candidate.
Here are ten things you should know about the Osun governor-elect.
1. Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke was born on May 13, 1960 into the popular Adeleke family of Ede in Osun State.
2. He had his primary and secondary school education in Lagos, and Osun States, respectively, before relocating to the United States.
3. While in the US, he worked as service contractor with Quicksilver Courier Company from 1985 to 1989. A year later, he became the vice president at Origin International LLC, a position he held from 1990 to 1994.
4. Between 1992 and 1999, he worked as an executive director of Guinness Nigeria Plc. Adeleke would go on serve as the group executive director at his elder brother’s company, Pacific Holdings Limited from 2001 to 2016.
5. He was the PDP candidate in the 2018 governorship election in the state, but lost to Oyetola after the run-off.
6. Between 2017 and 2019, Adeleke represented Osun West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, completing the tenure of his elder brother, late Senator Isiaka Adeleke.
7. He was enmeshed in a certificate scandal after his secondary school testimonial and WAEC result were said to have been forged.
8. Following controversies over his educational qualification, Adeleke went back to school in 2021 and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice at the Atlanta Metropolitan State College in the United States.
9. He beat all odds, including a court case, to emerge as the PDP candidate for the 2022 Osun governorship election.
10. Adeleke is a father of five including Nigerian singer, B-Red. He is also an uncle to award-winning musician, Davido.
