- Thirteen candidates are contesting the Osun governorship election scheduled for Saturday, August 15, 2026
- Yemisi Adeagbo Opawoye, 84, of the African Democratic Party is the only female candidate and the oldest in the race
- INEC cleared 14 candidates but one, the APGA flag-bearer, withdrew and backed the APC before election day
Thirteen candidates are on the ballot for the Osun State governorship election holding on Saturday, August 15, 2026, with the race dominated by incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, APC’s Bola Oyebamiji, and ADC’s Najeem Salam.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) originally cleared 14 candidates, but All Progressives Grand Alliance’s Adeyemi-Doro Adesina pulled out on August 8 and threw his support behind the APC, ICIR reports.
Source: Facebook
The election will take place across 30 local government areas, 332 registration areas, and 3,763 polling units, with 2,339,233 registered voters eligible to cast their ballots.
Beyond the three front-runners, several candidates from smaller parties are also in the contest. Below is a numbered breakdown of the six oldest candidates in the race, based on age data published by INEC.
Oldest Candidates in the Osun 2026 Election
1. Clement Adesuyi, 69, Action Peoples Party (APP)
Adesuyi, who is 69, is the oldest governorship candidate in the race. He is contesting the election on the platform of the Action Peoples Party.
2. Ademola Adeleke — Accord Party.
Ademola Adeleke is 66 years old. He was born on May 13, 1960. The incumbent governor, who first won the seat in 2022 by defeating then-governor Adegboyega Oyetola with 403,371 votes to Oyetola’s 375,027, is now seeking a second term.
Source: Facebook
His campaign focuses on infrastructure, healthcare, education, agriculture, and workers’ welfare.
3. Masilo Adeleke, 65, Boot Party
Masilo Adeleke, 65, is the third-oldest governorship candidate on the list. He is representing the Boot Party in Saturday’s election.
4. Yemisi Adeagbo Opawoye, 64 — African Democratic Party (ADP).
Adegabo Opawoye Yemisi, 64, is the only female governorship candidate in the election. She holds a Bachelor of Education degree and is contesting on the platform of the African Democratic Party.
Source: Facebook
5. Najeem Salam — African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Najeem Salaam is 61 years old. He was born on August 8, 1965 in Ejigbo, Osun State. Salam, a former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, served in that role between 2011 and 2015 before returning to the legislature in 2017.
Source: Facebook
His long career in Osun politics places him among the more senior candidates by experience, though his exact age was not listed in INEC’s published data.
6 Bola Oyebamiji — All Progressives Congress (APC).
Source: Facebook
Bola Oyebamiji is 60 years old. He was born on November 17, 1965. Oyebamiji previously served as Osun commissioner for finance under two governors and later headed the National Inland Waterways Authority before resigning in 2025 to contest the election. His career spans several decades in public service.
INEC has deployed 5,130 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices and approximately 16,374 ad hoc staff for the exercise, with thousands of security personnel also expected across the state.
The poll is the second off-cycle governorship election in the South-West this year, coming after Ekiti State’s election on June 18, 2026.
Osun 2026: List of 3 major contenders
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Osun State is heading into its most watched political contest in years, with 14 candidates on the ballot for the governorship election set for Saturday, August 15, 2026.
While the field is broad, three candidates have emerged as the most prominent contenders: incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Najeem Salam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Source: Legit.ng