Representative of His Excellency Senator Ademola Adeleke, Governor of Osun State, receiving The Zik Prize in Good Governance 2025 from His Royal Majesty Professor Epiphany Chukwuemeka Azinge, SAN, The Asagba of Asaba, on Sunday, 16 November 2025, at Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Senator Ademola Adeleke of the illustrious Adeleke family of Ede, Osun State, is a dynamic Nigerian politician, businessman, and philanthropist whose journey embodies resilience, inclusivity, and transformative service.
As the sixth democratically elected Governor of Osun State since November 2022, he has revitalized the “State of the Living Spring” through a five-point agenda of economic resurgence, social equity, and sustainability, earning recognition for his bold, people-centric reforms.
Adeleke’s education spanned Nigeria and the United States where his academic foundation fuelled a career blending global business acumen with grassroots philanthropy. Returning to Nigeria, he joined Pacific Holdings Limited, managing diverse investments in real estate, energy, and finance, while building the Adeleke Foundation—providing scholarships, healthcare, and community aid across Osun and beyond.
Adeleke’s political odyssey began in 2001 alongside his late brother, Senator Isiaka Adeleke. After Isiaka’s passing in 2017, he won the Osun West Senatorial by-election under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), serving from 2017 to 2019. As Senator, he championed youth empowerment, provided scholarships, and empowered communities in his senatorial district. His tenure, though brief, laid the groundwork for his gubernatorial bid.
In the 2018 Osun election, Adeleke emerged victorious in the initial vote but faced a controversial rerun loss. Undeterred, he reclaimed the mandate in 2022, winning with a margin of 400,000 votes. Sworn in on November 27, 2022, with Deputy Governor Kola Adewusi, Adeleke’s administration has delivered unprecedented fiscal prudence and human-centered progress.
Under Governor Adeleke’s “Imole” agenda, Osun slashed debt by 43%, boosted IGR by 600%, and cut infrastructure deficits by over 40%—without new loans. Potable water availability across all wards with several indigenes enjoying free health insurance, slashing maternal mortality. Massive road infrastructure, including Iwo-Osogbo and Ilesa dualizations, link communities; farm estates and inputs drive agricultural growth.
Education advances through UNIOSUN’s 2025 cooperative campus model and state-wide secondary reforms, elevating Osun to 7th in NECO rankings; climate action vaulted the state to 6th nationally (265 score). Fiscal transparency ranks joint 5th; bipartisan inclusivity, diaspora investment, and reforms in mining, digital economy, and workers’ welfare earned federal acclaim.
Married with children, Adeleke’s joyful, determined governance echoes Zik’s resilient, equitable vision.
