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The road to the August 15 governorship election is entering its final stretch in Osun State, with 15 candidates seeking the votes that could take them to the Osun State Government House.

While the contest features candidates from 15 political parties, three names have emerged as prominent contenders in the race: incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Bola Oyebamiji, and African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate Najeem Salam.

Incumbent Seeks Another Term

For the candidates, the campaign has taken them across the state’s 30 local government areas as they seek to make their case to voters ahead of Saturday’s election.

For Adeleke, the election presents an opportunity to defend the mandate he secured in 2022 and seek another four-year term. The Ede indigene was a businessman and corporate administrator in Nigeria and the United States before entering politics. His first governorship bid came in 2018 under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), when he lost to APC candidate Adegboyega Oyetola.

Four years later, Adeleke returned to the contest and defeated Oyetola, who was then the incumbent governor. He was sworn in as governor on November 27, 2022.

His political career had earlier taken him to the Senate. In July 2017, he was elected to represent Osun West Senatorial District, replacing his late elder brother, Adetunji Adeleke.

Now known in political circles as “Imole”, Adeleke is seeking another mandate on the strength of what he describes as his administration’s achievements in infrastructure, health, agriculture and other sectors.

Experienced Banker, Public Administrator

The APC’s Oyebamiji enters the contest with experience in banking, finance and public administration.

He served as Osun State Commissioner for Finance during the second term of former governor Rauf Aregbesola and the administration of Oyetola from 2017 to 2022.

An indigene of Ikire in the Irewole Local Government Area of the Osun West Senatorial District, Oyebamiji is popularly known as “AMBO”, an acronym of his full name, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji.

His public-sector experience extended to the federal level, where he served as Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority. He resigned from the position in November 2025 to pursue the governorship.

He is now taking that experience into a statewide contest for the mandate to lead Osun.

A Familiar Figure

The ADC candidate, Najeem Salam, is another familiar figure in Osun politics.

A native of Ejigbo in the Ejigbo Local Government Area, Salam, popularly known among his political associates and supporters as “Iwaloye”, holds a doctorate in political science.

His legislative career began in 2007 when he was elected to represent Ejigbo Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly. The victory was later nullified by the Court of Appeal in 2009 over an omission of his party’s logo on the ballot paper.

Salam returned to the contest in 2011, won the seat and became Speaker in June of that year. He served as Speaker from 2011 to 2015 and was re-elected in 2017, remaining in the Assembly until 2019.

He is now seeking the state’s highest political office.

A Wider Field

Beyond the three prominent contenders, 12 other candidates are on the ballot.

They are Olanrewaju Farinloye of the Action Alliance; Olajide Esan of the African Action Congress; Adeagbo Opawoye of the African Democratic Party; Adesina Adeyemi-Doro of the All Progressives’ Grand Alliance; Adewale Adebayo of the Allied Peoples Movement; Clement Adesuyi of the Action Peoples Party; Masilo Adeleke of the Boot Party; Taofeek Adeleke of the New Nigeria Peoples Party; Saliu Oyelami of the Peoples Redemption Party; Olalekan Ogunsakin of the Young Progressives Party; Francis Ajala of the Social Democratic Party; and Adefemi Adesuyi of the Zenith Labour Party.

Yemisi Adeagbo of the African Democratic Party is the only female candidate in the race. She is a retired school principal and is 84 years old.

Security Takes Centre Stage

With election day approaching, security preparations have also intensified.

Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu has barred the Western Nigeria Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun, as well as other quasi-security groups and private security organisations, from election-security duties.

He also restated the ban on armed escorts, security aides and other unauthorised persons accompanying political figures or VIPs to polling units and collation centres.

Disu warned political actors, their supporters and intending troublemakers that ballot snatching, voter intimidation, political thuggery and other electoral offences would attract arrest and prosecution.

The IGP has also deployed Deputy Inspector-General of Police Ishyaku Mohammed to coordinate security operations for the election.

He will work with other security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, supported by Assistant Inspectors-General and Commissioners of Police deployed across the state’s three senatorial districts.

The police said adequate arrangements have been made to protect voters, INEC personnel, election materials, polling units, collation centres, accredited observers and media practitioners before, during and after the election.

Parties Commit To Peaceful Poll

The candidates and their parties also signed a peace accord in July, reaffirming their commitment to a peaceful, free and credible election.

The accord was facilitated by the Osun Development Association during a Governance and Election Integrity Summit in Osogbo, attended by representatives of INEC, security agencies, traditional and religious leaders, political parties and civil society organisations.

The Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Oluwatoyin Babalola, said the integrity of the electoral process was a collective responsibility and urged stakeholders to place peace, patriotism and the interest of the state above political ambition.

The summit ended with representatives of participating political parties signing the peace accord and pledging to conduct their campaigns peacefully while upholding the principles of free, fair and credible elections.

Now, with August 15 approaching, the campaigns, promises and political calculations are giving way to the ballot. The decision ultimately rests with Osun voters, who will choose the candidate to lead the State of the Living Spring.

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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered alleged widespread manipulation of government payroll systems, including cases involving officials who enrolled multiple family members and collected salaries meant for fictitious workers.

The ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Economic Confidential Lecture and National Spokespersons Award organised by Image Merchants Promotions Limited.

Aliyu said investigations by the commission into ghost workers had uncovered how individuals manipulated government payroll systems to divert public funds and receive multiple salaries.

According to him, one official was found to have enrolled 14 members of his family on the government payroll.

“We discovered that one person enrolled 14 members of his family. He lived in a religious hotel, a hotel at the public office, receiving salaries,” Aliyu said.

The ICPC chairman disclosed that another individual allegedly enrolled his wife, daughter, son and other relatives on the payroll and received as many as 13 salaries.

“Another person enrolled his wife, his daughter, his son, and others and was receiving 13 salaries,” he said.

Aliyu said the commission had also identified about 900 suspected ghost workers and published their names, challenging those affected to establish that they were genuine government employees.

“We now secured income of about 900 ghost workers, which we published their names in papers,” he said.

He explained that the commission subsequently spent about one year investigating the suspected ghost workers and uncovering how fictitious employees were inserted into official payroll systems.

“We spent one year, one single year, on ghost workers,” Aliyu said.

According to him, some of the fraudulent entries appeared legitimate because the names and email addresses of the alleged ghost workers were listed on government payrolls, while the bank accounts attached to the salaries belonged to other individuals.

“When they insert their names, you will see their name in the payroll. You will see their email. But when you check the account number, you will see the name of the person. So, that is how these things have been done,” he explained.

Aliyu warned that the financial implications of ghost workers went beyond the salaries paid to fictitious employees, noting that such fraudulent entries could also create liabilities for government through pensions, housing, mortgages and health insurance.

“Because, you know, once there is a ghost worker, there is ghost pension, there is ghost mortgage, there is ghost housing fund, there is ghost health insurance,” he said.

The ICPC chairman said the commission’s interventions were aimed at protecting public resources and reducing the financial burden created by corruption and fraudulent government expenditure.

He also disclosed that the commission recovered more than N24 billion in suspected ghost pension funds in 2024.

“In 2024, we recovered over N24 billion ghost workers pension,” Aliyu said.

Aliyu said the ICPC had increasingly adopted preventive measures, data analysis and collaboration with other government agencies to identify leakages and recover public resources.

He stressed that the commission was shifting greater attention towards preventing corruption and ensuring that government projects and expenditures delivered value to Nigerians, rather than relying solely on criminal prosecution.

“It is better for us to do that than to engage in filing criminal charges. How many charges can we file?” he said

The ICPC chairman said the commission had recovered or secured government resources through interventions in public projects and other areas, adding that its ultimate objective was to ensure that Nigerians benefited from funds allocated for public services.

He further called for greater deployment of data and technology in the fight against corruption, stressing that access to reliable information and effective communication were crucial to building public confidence in anti-corruption efforts.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Image Merchants Promotions Limited, Yusha’u Shuaib, said the lecture was organised to promote stronger governance through transparency, accountability and professional communication.

“We are honoured to host yet another gathering of leaders, professionals, scholars, and communication experts committed to strengthening governance, promoting transparency, and advancing excellence in public communication,” Shuaib said.

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The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has extended the deadline for the submission of memoranda and position papers on the proposed legislation to Friday, August 21, 2026, at 5:00 pm West Africa Time (WAT).

The extension, announced on Thursday, is aimed at widening stakeholder participation and giving individuals, institutions and organisations additional time to prepare substantive contributions to the proposed reform of Nigeria’s policing architecture.

The Working Group, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the extension underscores its commitment to an inclusive and consultative process that draws on the expertise and experiences of Nigerians and key stakeholders.

The proposed National Policing Bill is expected to establish the operational, administrative, institutional and funding framework for a more effective policing system capable of responding to Nigeria’s evolving security challenges, while strengthening professionalism, accountability and the protection of citizens’ rights.

In a statement, the Working Group urged legal practitioners, civil society organisations, security sector professionals, state governments, professional bodies, academics, technical experts and other interested members of the public to use the additional window to submit well-considered memoranda and position papers.

It said the stakeholder engagement was particularly important given the far-reaching implications of the proposed legislation for the future of policing and internal security across the country.

Among the critical issues expected to feature in the submissions are sustainable funding, command and control structures, recruitment and training standards, operational jurisdiction, inter-agency coordination, accountability mechanisms, and safeguards against political interference and abuse.

According to the Working Group, these issues require broad-based consultation to ensure that the proposed framework is not only operationally effective but also accountable, sustainable and responsive to the diverse security needs of communities across the federation.

“All submissions must be made on or before 5:00 pm WAT on Friday, August 21, 2026,” the Working Group said, adding that submissions must be made exclusively through the official National Policing Bill portal, nationalpolicingbill.com.

The Working Group said it would, at the conclusion of its assignment, present a final, implementation-ready draft of the National Policing Bill for onward legislative processing.

It expressed appreciation to stakeholders who had already submitted memoranda and encouraged others wishing to participate in the process to take advantage of the extension.