Iyiola Ajani Omisore (born 15 September 1957) is a Nigerian businessman, engineer, and politician who served as deputy governor of

Osun State Osun (; ), is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73 km, to the south by Ogun State for 84 km and to the wes ...

from 1999 to 2003. Subsequently, he served as a member of the Nigerian Senate for Osun East from 2003 to 2011. He is a former national secretary of the

All Progressives Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, t ...

Background

Iyiola Omisore was born 15 September 1957, into a royal family in Ile-Ife, where he was also raised. He is the son of Oba David Olajide Omisore and the grandson of Lowa Ajani Anibijuwon Omisore, both of Olode, Ayepe. Iyiola is also the grandson of the Late Olufewara Kabiyesi Oba Titus Adetoba of the Oseganderuku ruling house in Ifewara where his mother, Princess Emila Adejola ruled as Regent until her death in 2006. In August 2006, his father was crowned as the first Olu of Olode Town in Ife South Local Government Area of

Education

He had his primary education at the SS Peter and Paul Roman Catholic School in Ile-Ife and his secondary education at St. John Grammar School Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria from 1972 to 1977. He then attended Federal Polytechnic Owo in Ondo State Nigeria. He then sat for and passed his Full Technological Certificate Examinations at the

Technology College In the United Kingdom, a Technology College is a specialist school that specialises in design and technology, mathematics and science. Beginning in 1994, they were the first specialist schools that were not CTC colleges. In 2008, there were 598 ...

, Reading UK, and obtained a diploma Certificate in Electrical/Electronics Engineering. Omisore holds two engineering degrees and a postgraduate certificate from

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

Uxbridge, as well as a PhD in Infrastructure Finance from the International School of Management, Paris, France. He is currently undergoing his DBA programme at the same institution. A Fellow of the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 110,000 member ...

, England and Wales, he has undergone several courses in different high-profile institutions including

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, Washington DC, USA; ABS Academy, Athens, Greece; University of Carolina; West London College;

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and the Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklungg GmbH, Germany. In January 2013, he completed and was awarded a Doctorate Degree by the International School of Management in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Business

He started his early professional life 1983 with Drake and Gordham while in the UK, rising to top management positions. Two years later, he was brought back to Nigeria by its Nigerian division, Drake and Scull (Nig) Ltd where he honed his project management skills. He later established his own engineering firms; Mechelec Consultants –an Engineering Consultancy outfit and Chrisore Eng Ltd – an Electrical Engineering firm. While with Drake and Scull Nig. Ltd, he supervised the construction of 19 airfields including the Makurdi Air Force Base and other projects like the Sokoto and Makurdi Rice Mills, Taraku Oil Mill, Sokoto

University Teaching Hospital The University Teaching Hospital (UTH), formerly Lusaka Hospital, is the biggest public tertiary hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. It is the largest hospital with 1,655 beds. It is a teaching hospital and, as such, is used to train local medical students ...

, Onitsha Flour Mills, Bank of The North (now

Unity Bank The Unity Bank of Canada was a small Canadian bank that was established in Toronto, Ontario, in 1972. Richard Higgins was president and David Matthews was general manager. It amalgamated with the Provincial Bank of Canada on February 14, 1977. ...

) Building,

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

Assisted Health Projects for Plateau, Benue and Nasarawa States and the Imiringi Rural Electrification project in Bayelsa State.

Political career

Deputy Governorship

Omisore served as deputy governor of Osun State from 1999 to 2003 under Governor

Adebisi Akande Chief Abdulkareem Adebisi Bamidele Akande (; born 16 January 1939) is a Nigerian politician who served as the governor of Osun State from 1999 to 2003, as a member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) party. He was the first interim Chairman of ...

Senate

Even though he was still on trial, he was elected to the Senate to represent Osun East constituency in April 2003 running on the platform of the PDP and served till the expiration of his term in 2007. He was reelected in 2007 and appointed to committees for Police Affairs, Housing, Culture & Tourism, Aviation and Appropriation. In May 2008, he was named a member of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review (JCCR). In October 2008, Omisore was one of the Nigerian delegates to the 5th Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Governorship Race

He ran for Governor of

on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the 9 August 2014 guber election and lost to

Rauf Aregbesola Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola (; born 25 May 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the Federal Ministry of Interior (Nigeria), minister of the Interior of Nigeria from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as governor of Osun State from 201 ...

who was the incumbent governor. He contested for the governorship seat on the platform of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SDP) in the 2018 Osun State gubernatorial election where he came third behind Senator

Ademola Adeleke Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke (; born 13 May 1960) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who has been serving as the governor of Osun State since 2022. He served as the senator representing the Osun-West senatorial district from 2017 to 2 ...

of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the eventual winner, Alhaji

Gboyega Oyetola Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola (born 29 September 1954) is a Nigerian politician who is the current minister of Marine and Blue Economy. He served as governor of Osun State from 2018 to 2022. He contested for the Osun State gubernatorial seat on t ...

of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Awards and achievements

He was conferred with the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Presidential Merit Award for Support and Contribution to the Development of the Society in 2007. Also, he was honoured with the Prime Award for Remarkable Contribution to the Growth of Engineering Profession and Society when the NSE was celebrating its Golden Jubilee in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omisore, Iyiola 1957 births Living people People from Ife Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria) politicians Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria) Senators of the 6th National Assembly (Nigeria) Senators of the 5th National Assembly (Nigeria) Social Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians Alumni of Brunel University London Fellows of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers