THROWBACK: How Adeleke lost Osun by 482 votes in 2018, won in 2022

In the 2018 Osun State governorship election, Adeleke, running as the candidate of the Accord Party, initially led Gboyega Oyetola by just 353 votes. However, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared the election inconclusive due to the number of cancelled votes being lower than the margin between the two candidates.

A rerun was held on September 27, 2018, where Oyetola won with 1,160 votes compared to Adeleke's 325 votes. This change in result gave Oyetola a total of 255,505 votes to Adeleke's 255,023 votes, with the final margin being only 482 votes. Despite the loss, Adeleke vowed to challenge the result and seek legal redress. Four years later, Adeleke faced Oyetola again in the 2022 election and emerged victorious with a margin of 28,344 votes, a significant shift from the narrow defeat four years prior.

However, Oyetola and the APC challenged Adeleke's victory at the Election Petitions Tribunal, alleging irregularities. After several months, the tribunal annulled Adeleke's victory, but he appealed the decision. The Court of Appeal later overturned the tribunal's decision and restored Adeleke as the governor, ending the legal battle. Now, Adeleke is seeking another term as the Accord Party candidate in the upcoming election.