While Mr Adeleke’s administration claims it has recorded governance successes, it also faced criticism over the quality of some projects and public service delivery in the state.
In November 2022, Ademola Adeleke took office as Osun State governor after defeating the incumbent, Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC), with 403,371 votes to Mr Oyetola’s 375,027.
He promised to ensure that public resources served the people of the state.
Upon assuming office, Mr Adeleke claimed he inherited a state facing substantial obligations, including salary and pension arrears, infrastructure deficits and a public sector burdened by accumulated liabilities.
The governor, who was elected on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket, said Mr Oyetola left a debt of N75 billion in salaries and pensions. The claim contradicted the former governor’s farewell statement, wherein he said he left N14 billion in the state’s operating account and didn’t take a loan during his tenure.
Nearly four years later, as Osun voters return to the polls, the question is no longer simply what the governor earlier promised. Rather, it is whether the changes his administration said it has delivered have translated into measurable improvements in the lives of residents.
A PREMIUM TIMES assessment of the administration’s record shows a mixed picture.
The government has reduced the state’s debt, increased internally generated revenue and paid portions of inherited salary, pension and other obligations. He has also made visible investments in roads and other infrastructure, and implemented projects in various sectors such as education, healthcare, and agriculture.
However, the administration’s record remains contested as opposition parties criticise the quality and distribution of some projects. The concerns over education spending, public-sector management and the state’s prolonged local government crisis have also complicated the administration’s performance narrative.
Infrastructure is perhaps the area where the administration’s footprint is most visible.
In 2022, Mr Adeleke promised to direct state resources towards what he described as home-grown infrastructure and to restore Osun’s deteriorating infrastructure.
Since taking office, his administration has embarked on road rehabilitation and construction, alongside major dualisation and flyover projects.
In October 2023, the governor unveiled a N100 billion infrastructure plan aimed at addressing infrastructure deficits across sectors and strengthening the state’s economy.
The plan included the rehabilitation of 345 primary healthcare facilities, provision of potable water, reconstruction of 31 schools and the construction of five flyovers, as well as street-lighting projects in Osogbo.
In March 2025, the administration unveiled a second-phase infrastructure plan valued at N159 billion, covering roads, healthcare, education and other projects.
The plan committed N2.76 billion for the renovation of 124 primary healthcare centres, N1.98 billion for school renovation and construction, and more than N101 billion for road infrastructure.
The government has since highlighted the construction and rehabilitation of more than 350 kilometres of roads and major projects, including the dualisation of roads in Ilesa, Ila and Iwo, and flyovers in Ile-Ife and Osogbo (Oke-Fia and LAMECO).
At an ARISE town hall last Monday, Mr Adeleke also said his administration had undertaken work on about 10 federal roads for which the state was yet to be reimbursed.
But the infrastructure record also illustrates one of the administration’s limitations: several of its flagship projects remained works in progress as the election approached.
Mr Adeleke’s administration has also faced criticism from opposition parties over the quality of some projects.
In late July, PREMIUM TIMES reported criticism surrounding defects in the newly constructed LAMECO Flyover in Osogbo after a part of the infrastructure developed cracks, triggering another political dispute over the quality of the administration’s projects. Opposition parties also accused the government of executing substandard projects.
The infrastructure record, therefore, presents both sides of Mr Adeleke’s tenure: an administration that has invested heavily in visible physical projects, but one whose success must ultimately be measured not only by the number of kilometres of roads or projects announced, but by their quality, durability and impact on residents.
Workers’ welfare was another central promise of Mr Adeleke’s 2022 campaign. He promised to make salaries, gratuities and pensions a first-line priority.
His administration subsequently paid portions of inherited salary and pension arrears and approved promotion arrears for workers. The government also implemented the new national minimum wage and continued payments towards inherited obligations.
At the 2025 Workers’ Day programme, the Osun NLC chairman, Christopher Arapasopo, commended the administration for paying salary and promotion arrears and implementing the new minimum wage.
The government has also highlighted its payment of inherited pension liabilities as one of its major achievements. At a 2026 presentation of his record, Mr Adeleke said his administration had paid almost N100 billion in inherited pension debt.
While interventions represent an improvement from the obligations it claimed it inherited in 2022, they do not amount to a complete resolution of workers’ welfare concerns.
The administration also approved the 2026 promotion examinations and financial backing across public service agencies, while also engaging in recruitment through teaching commissions to help bridge staffing deficits in public schools.
One of the measurable aspects of Mr Adeleke’s tenure has been debt reduction.
According to figures from the Debt Management Office cited by the Osun government, the state’s domestic debt fell from N148.37 billion in December 2022 to N83.32 billion by March 2025, a reduction of 43.84 per cent. Its external debt also fell from $91.78 million to $75.14 million over the period.
