Adams Oshiomhole Biography: Early Life, Career, Awards, Controversy, Wives, Children & Net Worth
Senator Adams Oshiomhole is a veteran Nigerian politician and former labour leader who currently represents Edo North in the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Oshiomhole is best known for serving as the APC’s national chairman and leader of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) from 1999 to 2007, as well as governor of Edo State from 2008 to 2016.
Adams Oshiomhole Biography
Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole was born on April 4, 1952, in Iyamho, near Auchi, in the old Bendel State, which is now Edo State. He comes from a modest background and was raised as a Muslim until he converted to Christianity as an adult.
Adams Oshiomhole Educational Qualifications
Following his secondary education, he got a job at Arewa Textiles Company, where he was elected union secretary. In 1975, he started working full-time as a trade union organiser. Oshiomhole realised he wanted to enhance his education, so in 1975 he enrolled at Ruskin College in Oxford, United Kingdom, to study industrial relations with a focus on labour economics.
Furthermore, in 1989, he attended the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Plateau State, Nigeria, where he became a Member of the National Institute.
Career
Oshiomhole’s access to the party’s national secretariat will be curtailed. To keep Oshiomhole out of the secretariat, armed security agents from the Police, Department of State Service (DSS), and Civil Defence were deployed in large numbers.
On March 5, 2020, a federal high court in Kano reversed the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court’s decision and reinstated Oshiomhole as the APC’s national chairman. This produced confusion as to which ruling to follow because both courts (FCT High Court and Federal High Court Kano) have equal jurisdiction and neither could overturn the other’s decision.
Oshiomole filed an appeal against his suspension with the Abuja Court of Appeal, which affirmed it on June 16, 2020. On May 28, 2022, Oshiomhole won the APC primaries for the 2023 Edo North senatorial election.
On February 26, 2023, INEC declared Oshiomhole the winner of the 2023 senatorial election for Edo North district. With 107,110 votes, Oshiomhole was proclaimed the winner of the polls, ousting the incumbent Senator Francis Alimekhena of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who received 55,344 votes.
He was named Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior of the 10th Senate, on 8 August 2023.
Controversy
Following a missing Air Peace trip to Abuja, Oshiomhole got embroiled in a public confrontation at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed Airport in June 2025. According to the airline, Oshiomhole allegedly confronted airline employees and impeded terminal access, causing delays for other customers.
Air Peace issued a statement criticising what it called “unruly conduct” and reaffirming its zero-tolerance stance against interruptions.
Awards and Honours
President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Oshiomhole Commander of the Order of the Niger on November 15, 2011.
However, about a year and a half later, the Peoples Democratic Party’s chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, challenged the award, accusing Oshiomhole of age fraud.
On November 21, 2011, he received the “Icon of Democracy” award from the Nigeria Union of Journalists.
Adams Oshiomhole Wife
Adams Oshiomhole was previously married to Clara Oshiomhole, and they had three children: Jane, Steve, and Adams Oshiomhole. However, they divorced in 2010. Adams Oshiomhole married Lara Fortes, a young model whom he met while visiting Cape Verde, in 2015. They’ve been married since then and are known for their strong and supportive bond.
Adams Oshiomhole Net Worth
Adams Oshiomhole, a Nigerian politician and former labour leader, has acquired a net worth of $5 million to $10 million over his professional career. He rose to fame as the president of the Nigerian Labour Congress and has since held several political roles, including as governor of Edo State and chairman of the All Progressive Congress.
