INEC Publishes List of Candidates for Osun Guber Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the final list of candidates and their running mates for the August 15, 2026 governorship election in Osun State, confirming the participation of 14 political parties in the race.

The list, contained in a communication signed by INEC Secretary, Dr. Rose Oriaran-Anthony, and dated March 4, 2026, was also uploaded on the commission’s official website.

Notably absent from the final roster are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), both of which did not field candidates for the election.

According to the list, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Oyebamiji, selected Benjamin Adereti as his running mate.

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Adereti, 48, was the party’s candidate for the Ife Federal Constituency seat in the 2023 House of Representatives election but lost to Bimbo Ajilesoro of the PDP. His emergence replaces former state lawmaker, Tunde Olatunji, who had earlier been submitted to INEC as the deputy governorship nominee.

Among the notable contenders is a former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Najeem Salaam, who is flying the flag of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Salaam picked Yemisi Agiri as his running mate.

The incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, contesting on the platform of the Accord party, retained his deputy governor, Kola Adewusi, as his running mate for the poll.

Other candidates listed by INEC include Adeyera Oluwabusola Adesola of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Abdulsalam Olamide of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Bello Muideen Yekeen of the African Action Congress (AAC), all of whom also submitted names of their deputies.

INEC had initially scheduled the governorship election for August 8, 2026, but later shifted the exercise to August 15, 2026.

With the publication of the final list, political parties are expected to commence official campaign activities from March 11, 2026, in line with the electoral timetable released by the commission.