Full Name: Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke
State of Origin: Osun State.
Date of Birth: 13 May 1960
Nationality: Nigerian
Marriage status: Married.
Alma mater: Jacksonville State University, Atlanta Metropolitan State College.
Occupation: Politician and Businessman
Position(S): Senator for Osun West In office (2017–2019). Governor-elect of Osun State (Assuming office 27 November 2022)
Political party: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Twitter:@AAdeleke_01
Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke is a Nigerian politician and businessman, He was a senator that represented the Osun-west senatorial district between 2017 and 2019. He is popularly known as the “dancing senator” for his skill at dancing. He is the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in the 2022 Osun State gubernatorial election.
Early Life and Education
Adeleke was born on May 13, 1960, in Ede, Osun State, into the well-known Adeleke family. His mother is an Igbo-Christian named Nnena Esther Adeleke, while his father is a Muslim named Raji Ayoola Adeleke. Dr Adedeji Adeleke and Late Mr Isiaka Adeleke are the names of his two older brothers. He is the third and final child of his parents.
Adeleke started his primary education at Methodist Primary School, Surulere, Lagos State, then relocated to Old Oyo State and attended Nawarudeen Primary School, Ikire. He progressed to Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School, Ede, in the then Old Oyo State and later moved to Ede Muslim Grammar School, Ede, where he finished his secondary school education before relocating to the United States. He left Nigeria to continue his studies, joining his two older brothers in the United States of America. He started his higher studies at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, United States of America, where he majored in criminal justice with a minor in political science.
He returned back to school after controversies surrounding his educational qualification. He went back to school and enrolled at Atlanta Metropolitan State College in the United States, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice in 2021.
Career
Ademola Adeleke started his career as a service contractor at Quicksilver Courier Company in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, from 1985 to 1989. He moved to Origin International LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, US, a flavour and fragrance manufacturing company, as vice president from 1990 to 1994. Adeleke is a businessman and administrator who, from 1992 to 1999, worked as an executive director of Guinness Nigeria Plc, where General Theophilus Danjuma was one of his co-directors. From 2001 to 2016, he served as the group executive director of his brother’s business, Pacific Holdings Limited.
Political Career
Adeleke joined politics together with his late brother, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, who passed away in April 2017. Adeleke began his political career in 2001. After his brother passed away in 2017, he ran in the Osun West by-election and won under the People’s Democratic Party. Ademola was a member of the All Progressives Congress before switching to the People’s Democratic Party. On July 23, 2018, Adeleke defeated Akin Ogunbiyi by seven votes to win the PDP’s election for governor of Osun State.
He emerged as the winner of the Osun State governorship election on September 22nd, 2018, but the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) declared it inconclusive. The state had a rerun election on the 27th of September 2018, in which he lost to the incumbent, Governor Gbotega Oyetola, and on the 5th of July 2019, the supreme court declared Gboyega Oyetola the winner.
He is currently the governorship candidate of the PDP in the 2023 Osun state gubernatorial election.
Personal Life
Adeleke is married to Mrs Titilola Adeleke. The union is blessed with 2 sons and 1 daughter, whose names are Adebayo Adeleke, popularly known as B-Red, Shina Adeleke, fondly called Shina Rambo, and Nike Adeleke. They are all in the entertainment industry. He is also the uncle of popular Nigerian musician David Adeleke, whose stage name is Davido.
Controversy
Certificate scandal
Adeleke was accused and charged with fabricating his secondary school testimonial and WAEC results. He was asked to withdraw his governorship candidacy before the Osogbo high court. The declaration Adeleke made to INEC on July 20, 1988, was made at a time when Osun State was not yet a state. Additionally, the SSCE results mentioned in the testimony demonstrated that the examination format wasn’t in use in 1981. The 2018 Heading, Ede Muslim High School testimonial shows that the principal who signed the 1988 testimonial also signed the 2018 testimonial.
This led to the principal’s arrest, and Adeleke’s attorney states that his secondary school hasn’t publicly refuted the testimony. This resulted in the principal being arrested. Adeleke’s defence attorney asserts that Adeleke’s secondary school has not publicly refuted his testimony, asking the court to dismiss the case. The court declared that Adeleke’s forgeries could not be established and dismissed the case. According to testimony given in court by one of the witnesses, he said Adeleke was not present in the examination room.
Osun State Governorship Debate
Adeleke ran for Osun state governorship election under the PDP against top contenders Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola of APC and Iyiola Omisore of SDP on 22 September 2018. The election was declared inconclusive[21] by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and a rerun slated on 27 September 2018. The candidate of the APC Oyetola was declared winner after the run-off. Adeleke protested the result describing the election as a “coup”.
On 22 March 2019 the tribunal sitting in Abuja declared Adeleke the winner of the election.
The Supreme Court later affirmed Gboyega Oyetola as the authentic winner of the 2018 Osun State governorship election on Friday, 5 July 2019
In 2022, Adeleke contested in the gubernatorial election of 16 July under the PDP against incumbent governor Gboyega Oyetola. Adeleke defeated Gboyega Oyetola with 402,979 votes to 375,077 votes. Adeleke won in 17 local government areas, including Olorunda, Ede South, Orolu, Osogbo, Odo Otin, Ifelodun, Boluwaduro, Atakumosa, and Ila.