Senator Iyiola Omisore is not on the ballot for the August 15 governorship election in Osun State. He does not need to be. In a contest where every voting bloc is important, and every alliance could prove decisive, candidates from across party lines have been making their way to
Omisore is a former two-term senator and ex-National Secretary of the APC. Once a serious governorship contender himself, he has evolved into something the political class often finds more useful: a kingmaker. The reasons candidates want him are not mysterious. There are three, and each is concrete.
The first is Ife land. Omisore commands fierce grassroots loyalty across the four local governments of Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North, and Ife South. In close elections, the candidate who carries Ife tends to carry Osun. Omisore can either deliver or deny that bloc, which makes him the single most consequential non-candidate in the race.
The second is the 2018 precedent, which he created himself. When that year’s governorship election was declared inconclusive, Omisore held the deciding votes as a third-party candidate. He formed a coalition with the APC and directed those votes toward Gboyega Oyetola, who won. From that moment, his kingmaker credentials were not theoretical. They were proven in a real election with real stakes.
The third is institutional reach. His network runs from Osun’s ward councils to the presidency in Abuja. He has financial resources, an organised campaign structure, and relationships within APC national leadership that newer candidates cannot replicate. Any aspirant who secures his support gains not just votes but infrastructure.
The APC has already drafted him into its 276-member National Campaign Council for the 2026 election. With incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke commanding significant popularity, the race is competitive enough that every advantage counts.
In that kind of contest, Omisore has surpassed the icon of a footnote, fully and completely settling himself within the category of a factor.