Adewole Adebayo

His own law firm in Abuja, of which he is founder and principal. Wikipedia and the texts that copy it (Daily Trust and ThisDay, 2022) say he founded it in 2002 after two years as a litigation lawyer at Tunji Abayomi & Co. in Lagos, i.e. from his 2000 call to the Bar. His 2022 campaign profile instead says he joined Tunji Abayomi in 2002, after national service in Kogi State, rose to head of chambers and "later" left for Abuja, which would place the founding after 2002. Companies he controls were registered at the firm's Abuja office block from May 2004. The 2002 start is kept at medium confidence. The practice covers international investment law and arbitration; he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and was admitted to the New York Bar in 2013 (New York attorney register). Notable briefs, all as counsel and never as a party: legal adviser to Continental Transfert Technique Ltd in the 2019 CERPAC dispute with Femi Falana SAN; lead counsel for the SDP in SDP v. INEC & 2 Ors (CA/IB/EP/HR/OG/01/2025), its appeal over the 16 August 2025 Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency by-election won by the APC's Adesola Ayoola-Elegbeji, which the Court of Appeal, Ibadan, dismissed on 9 January 2026 after the tribunal had struck out the petition (EPT/OG/HR/01/2025) on 12 November 2025; counsel to the Gombe-led SDP in its appeal from FHC/ABJ/CS/402/2026, in which the Court of Appeal, Abuja, set aside on 12 August 2026 a judgment recognising Shehu Gabam as national chairman (the Supreme Court dismissed Gabam's further appeal on 16 September 2026); and counsel to the SDP at the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in September 2026.

The TRC's final report (Volume II, staff listing for October 2005 - June 2009) lists "Cllr. Adewole Ebeneze[r] Adebayo" as a member of its International Technical Advisory Committee. ITAC advisers had the rights and privileges of commissioners except the vote; under the TRC Act one ITAC seat was filled by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and two by ECOWAS. His own biography and Wikipedia call him a "Commissioner" appointed in 2006 by the UN and ECOWAS; the report does not list him among the nine commissioners. The report says the three ITAC advisers first appointed in 2006 later resigned; his exit date was not found.

Television network headquartered in Ondo with stations in Lagos and Abuja. Its mission was set at a retreat he held in Ondo in December 2016, the founding date his profiles and Wikipedia use (a 2022 tribute by his head of station says 2017). The operating company, King Adebayo Film & Theatre Arts Network Ltd, was registered on 10 December 2014 and KAFTAN TV Ltd on 16 April 2015; CAC lists him as the operating company's representative. The station was on air by September 2018 and launched a Hausa channel on 8 November 2021. It was still operating in 2024, when its board appointed Abdulwaheed Odusile chief executive (March) and Reuben Okala head of the Abuja station (June).

Won the SDP presidential primary for the 2023 election at the party's national convention at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on Wednesday 8 June 2022 (counting ran into the early hours of 9 June). Returning officer Umar Ardo declared 1,526 votes for Adebayo against 83 for his only opponent, Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi; 1,653 votes were cast, 1,609 valid and 44 invalid. Vanguard and Daily Trust (and Wikipedia) report 1,546: 1,526 is stored because only it adds up with 83 to the 1,609 valid votes. The 94.84% share is of valid votes (computed). This was the primary of the INEC-recognised Gabam/Agunloye leadership; a rival faction led by Supo Shonibare had nominated ex-senator Ebenezer Ikeyina in May 2022. INEC published Adebayo as the SDP candidate in September 2022, and he and Ikeyina reconciled at a meeting in Ikeja, Lagos, on 28 September 2022.

Returned unopposed as the SDP presidential candidate at the party's national convention and presidential primary at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, on Saturday 9 May 2026. He was the sole aspirant and was affirmed by consensus of delegates from the 36 states and the FCT; electoral committee chairman Edoho James-Nsima declared him. No vote count was published (the SDP's letter to INEC, reported 13 May 2026, calls the exercise a direct primary). He had declared his intention to run on 14 March 2025. On 20 May 2026 a rival faction led by Shehu Gabam held its own convention in Abuja and adopted Abimbola Atanda by voice vote; INEC's final list of 12 September 2026 (SN 16, "ADEBAYO ADEWOLE EBENEZER") carries Adebayo as the SDP candidate.

SDP presidential candidate for the election of 16 January 2027, with Usman Muhammed Bugaje as running mate. INEC's final list of presidential candidates, released on 12 September 2026, lists the ticket at SN 16: "ADEBAYO ADEWOLE EBENEZER" (54, male; qualifications declared: FSLC, WASCE, LLB) and "BUGAJE USMAN MUHAMMED" (74). The INEC publication of about 1 August 2026 that some reports called the final list was an earlier list of cleared nominees.

His first legal job after his call to the Bar: a litigation lawyer at Tunji Abayomi & Co. in Lagos, where he rose to head of chambers. The years conflict: Wikipedia-derived texts have him there for about two years from 2000 before he founded his own firm in 2002, while his 2022 campaign profile says he joined in 2002, after national service in Kogi State, and "later" left for Abuja. No years are stored.