Professor Joshua Olalekan Ogunwole, the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, stepped away from his familiar academic role on Sunday to perform a major electoral duty as the State Returning Officer for the 2026 Osun State governorship election.
Ogunwole announced Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the election at the state collation centre at about 7:24am. Adeleke, who contested on the platform of the Accord Party, polled 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes.
But beyond the election result, who is the professor behind the declaration?
Here are seven things to know about him.
He is a professor of Soil Science
Ogunwole was born on July 23, 1967, in Ibadan, Oyo State, and hails from Ogbomoso. He holds a BSc in Agriculture, as well as MSc and PhD degrees in Soil Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
His research interests include soil science, environmental management, carbon sequestration, sustainable agriculture and climate adaptation.
He has worked at several Nigerian universities.
Ogunwole’s academic career has taken him through several Nigerian universities, including Ahmadu Bello University, Adamawa State University, Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Bowen University and the Federal University Oye-Ekiti.
He also served as Vice-Chancellor of Bowen University between 2018 and 2023.
He has held senior leadership positions
Before becoming Vice-Chancellor of FUOYE, Ogunwole served as the university’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Strategic Partnerships, Research, Innovation and Linkages.
His career has therefore extended beyond teaching and research into university administration, partnerships and institutional development.
He has international academic experience
Ogunwole was a Fulbright Scholar at Pennsylvania State University in the United States between 2009 and 2010.
He was also a TWAS Postdoctoral Fellow in India and held an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship at the University of Hannover, Germany.
His international academic engagements have also taken him to Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Italy, Ghana, Mali, Kenya and Tunisia.
He has built a research career around agriculture and the environment
Ogunwole has published research in local and international journals and supervised postgraduate students in his field.
He is a Fellow of the African Scientific Institute and the Soil Science Society of Nigeria.
He also belongs to international professional bodies, including the Agronomy Society of America, Soil Science Society of America and International Union of Soil Science.
He moved from the university to the election collation centre
On Sunday, Ogunwole took on a different responsibility as the State Returning Officer for the 2026 Osun governorship election.
After the results from the local government areas were presented and signed by agents of the participating political parties, he formally announced Adeleke as the winner.
Adeleke won 19 of Osun’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11. The African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salaam, finished third.
His career goes beyond the classroom
Ogunwole’s career demonstrates how academics can take on responsibilities beyond teaching and research.
From studying soil science and conducting agricultural research to becoming a university administrator and serving as a returning officer in a major electoral process, his career has combined academic expertise, institutional leadership and public responsibility.
On Sunday, the FUOYE Vice-Chancellor added another chapter to that career when he formally declared the winner of the Osun Stat
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