Lademi Aborisade, Lois Ugbede, Cole Praise and Phillip Anjorin
As stakeholders in Osun State prepare for the Aug. 15, 2026 election, Arise Television hosted a town hall meeting bringing together leading candidates.
Governor Ademola Adeleke, who is contesting for a second term under the Accord Party, was among the candidates featured.
DUBAWA collated some of his claims on the programme and verified them.
Claim 1: Governor Adeleke claimed that Osun State rose from 33rd to 7th in NECO/WAEC exam performance during his tenure
VERDICT: True
In a 2025 publication, schools from Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Osun, Ogun, Lagos, and Ekiti were ranked among the top ten best-performing states at the National Examinations Council (NECO). Schools in Osun State had the best performance rate at 72.64 per cent, up from 33rd place in 2022.
The report, published by the National Examinations Council (NECO), was titled “Standard Educational Performance Ranking of States in the 2024 SSCE.” Out of 41,264 candidates from Osun State, 29,101 secured at least five credits, including English and Mathematics, marking a success rate of about 71 per cent. This gave them the 7th position.
Claim 2: Adeleke claimed he recruited more than 1,500 Amotekun personnel
Verdict: Insufficient Evidence
Credible media reports found here, here, and here revealed that Adeleke inducted 1,150 cadets into the State Security Network Agency, the Amotekun Corps, in March 2025. A press release by the Amotekun Corps also confirmed the graduation of these 1,150 cadets.
A news report also quoted the security outfit commander, Isaac Omoyele, as saying the 2025 recruitment was in addition to the 320 operatives the security arm was already working with.
We summed the 1,150 new recruits in March 2025 with the reported baseline number, 320. This gave us a total of 1,470, which is not up to 1,500. However, we also couldn’t find evidence of any recruitment prior to 2025.
Claim 3: Adeleke claimed he introduced a state policing Bill while he was a senator, which passed a second reading before stalling
Verdict: Insufficient Evidence
Governor Ademola Adeleke served as a senator representing the Osun-West senatorial district from 2017 to 2019, but we could not find any news report about him sponsoring a state policing Bill.
We, however, found that in 2018, the then Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, sponsored a bill seeking to amend the constitution to allow for state policing. The bill was titled “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) Bill, 2018.”
Claim 4: Governor Adeleke claims that his administration has fixed Otan Ayegbaju to Iresi, which had been abandoned for 45 years.
Verdict: True
On Dec. 12, 2026, the Osun State government, under the administration of Adeleke, commissioned the intercity road between Otan Ayegbaju and Iresi in the Boluwaduro Local Government Area, breaking a 44-year development gap.
The Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation also reported that Adeleke declared the 7.5-kilometre Iresi township roads and 4.5-kilometre Otan-Ayegbaju-Iresi road open. It described the event as historic, as the road had been dilapidated since the Second Republic (1979-1983).
Claim 5: Adeleke claimed he has paid over ₦80 billion to pensioners
Verdict: Misleading
We reviewed the Osun State Accountant-General’s audited financial statements from 2023 through 2025 and excluded the 2022 financial year because it fell outside Adeleke’s administration’s budget control.
Findings revealed that the Adeleke-led administration expended N18,928,913,671.77 on pensions and gratuities in 2023, N16,789,125,693.55 in 2024, and N20,493,774,857.34 in 2025.
Cumulatively, the N56.21 billion spent strictly on pensions and gratuities across the three fiscal years under review fell below Adeleke’s “over N80 billion” claim.
We also expanded the parameters to include employees’ direct pension payouts under social benefits for the years under review. The state government spent N5,538,416,452.47 in 2023, N5,776,190,910.02 in 2024, and N8,384,388,133.53 in 2025.
Across the three fiscal years, the government cumulatively spent around N19.7 billion.
When combined with the government’s contributions to pensions and gratuities, his administration spent N75.91 billion. This amount is less than the governor’s N80 billion claim.
It is important to note, however, that we could not include the 2026 fiscal year since it is not yet complete.
Claim 6: Osun is the only state in the southwest without an airport
Verdict: True
A Punch report in 2023 quoted Governor Adeleke as promising to work toward the successful completion of the Osun State airport
The South-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria consists of six states: Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo. Available reports show that Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, and Oyo have airports.
Information available on the Osun State website reveals that the State is currently implementing a project to build an international airport at Ido Osun, Ede North/ Egbedore Local Government Areas.