, Nigeria During the
Nigerian third republic, Adeleke ran for governor of the newly created
Osun State which was carved out from
Oyo State. He was a member of
SDP the dominant party in the state. The front runner was a lawyer, Oladipo Oladosu but after a close primary in which Adeleke came second, Adeleke was able to win a runoff. He was then elected the first civilian governor of
Osun State in 1992. Notable decisions made by Adeleke was the establishment of a polytechnic at
Iree, a
college of technology at
Esa-Oke and the completion of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation. However, in 1994, after the dissolution of the republic, Adeleke pitched its tent to the opposition group,
Afenifere but later switched to join a Democratic Party of Nigeria, a new political party with support from close associates of
Abacha. In 2007, Adeleke was elected senator for Osun West. His main competitor was
Mudasiru Oyetunde Hussein, standing for the
Action Congress. Hussein had spent two terms in the House of Representatives (1999–2007) as a member of the
Alliance for Democracy party in a
Lagos State constituency, but originated from Osun state. Hussein appealed the election unsuccessfully. In July 2009, as chairman of the Senate Committee on
INEC, Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke praised the work of the
Independent National Electoral Commission, saying "so far INEC has performed creditably well". He has supported the rights of Nigerians living abroad to vote in Nigerian elections. Adeleke, before his death was allegedly eyeing the governorship seat in Osun ahead of the 2018 election in the state. ==Death==