•Cites 24 years’ legislative experience, accountancy background •Unveils nine-point agenda, promises jobs, industrialisation, better roads •Says Yewa-Awori deserves governorship after 50 years •Speaks on Ekiti origin claim
By Clifford Ndujihe, Politics Editor
Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, has made a case for his suitability to govern Ogun State in 2027, citing 24 years of legislative experience, his professional background as an accountant and his commitment to consolidate the achievements of Governor Dapo Abiodun.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, who unveiled his nine-point development blueprint, the ITESIWAJU Agenda, recently, in an interview with journalists in Lagos, said his ambition was driven by a passion to serve the people and transform the state, rather than personal enrichment.
Adeola, who is seeking to become governor on his third attempt to return to Ogun politics, after 20 years sojourn in Lagos, also argued that the Yewa-Awori axis deserved to produce the state’s next governor, having yet to occupy the position in the state’s 50-year history.
He described the 2027 election as an opportunity to sustain the foundation he said Abiodun had laid for economic growth, industrialisation and improved public services.
“My ambition to be the governor of this state is not based on personal interest or plan to enrich myself or to be in that exalted office to be called governor, but based on passion to serve. Passion to serve the people of Ogun,” he said.
Why I’m qualified
Adeola, 57, said his experience across the Lagos State House of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate had equipped him with the legislative, financial and administrative knowledge required to govern Ogun.
A chartered accountant, he spent 13 years at The Guardian newspapers before entering elective politics. He was elected to represent Alimosho in the Lagos State House of Assembly in 2002, serving for eight years before moving to the House of Representatives.
He subsequently represented Lagos West Senatorial District for eight years before moving to Ogun West, which he currently represents in the Senate.
The lawmaker said the experience had given him an understanding of public finance, lawmaking and the policy choices necessary to move Ogun forward.
He maintained that the state needed a leader who could build on existing achievements while translating economic opportunities into jobs, infrastructure and improved living standards.
“I strongly feel that the next person in line must come to consolidate on the gains we have made in the last seven and a half years as a state,” he said.
Why Yewa-Awori should produce governor
Adeola identified the long-standing absence of a governor from the Yewa-Awori axis as another consideration in the 2027 contest.
The Ilaro-born politician argued that the area’s claim should be considered alongside the need for competent leadership and inclusive development.
“If elected, it will be the first time somebody from the Yewa-Awori axis will become governor,” he said, making regional representation a key part of his appeal to voters. He, however, presented his candidacy primarily as a vehicle for economic transformation, insisting that Ogun had the natural resources, industrial base and strategic location to become Nigeria’s biggest economy.
Nine-point Itesiwaju Agenda
Adeola said his ITESIWAJU Agenda, built around the motto, “Nine priorities. One vision. One Ogun,” would focus on infrastructure, industrialisation, agriculture, education, healthcare, security, youth and women’s empowerment, tourism, environmental sustainability and improved fiscal management.
A central objective, he said, would be to position Ogun as a self-sustaining industrial hub capable of generating employment and reducing the movement of skilled workers to neighbouring Lagos State.
On infrastructure, he promised major road rehabilitation, including the Mowe-Ofada axis, alongside mass transit bus services and commuter rail connections between Abeokuta and Lagos. He promised to do inner roads and ensure demolition of buildings was not the first option at OPIC lands at Ilutuntun, Agbara and other areas. The senator pledged to strengthen agriculture and food security through diversification, improve educational standards and human capital development, and expand access to healthcare.
Security would involve closer collaboration with community-based structures, including the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, while youth and women’s empowerment programmes would provide opportunities for economic participation.
He proposed cooperative arrangements for commercial drivers, including car, tricycle and motorcycle operators, with access to health insurance and vehicle financing.
Tourism and the creative arts would also feature in his economic plans, alongside urban renewal, environmental sustainability, physical planning, public finance reforms and improved local administration.
Deep seaport, dairy farm, minerals
Beyond the manifesto, Adeola pointed to what he described as the economic foundations laid by the Abiodun administration, arguing that the state’s development should be assessed not only by visible infrastructure but also by projects expected to generate future prosperity. He cited a proposed N7 billion deep seaport, for which he said groundbreaking was expected in November, as well as a dairy farm with an initial 500 cattle and a target of 15,000 cattle within two years.
He also mentioned a major furniture-making company and plans for crude oil exploitation at Tongeji Island, which he said had 12 basins.
“Governor Abiodun has laid a very solid foundation. It is for me to consolidate and ensure all these come to pass,” he said.
Adeola said Ogun’s natural resources offered substantial opportunities for investment, industrial growth and employment if properly managed.
He pledged to pursue licences for mineral exploration and mining, while ensuring that local communities and the state benefited from the exploitation of their resources.
“I will domesticate Local Content Act in Ogun State. We (National Assembly) have expanded the scope of the Act to cover every sector instead of oil. In exploring mineral resources, Ogun will not be a dumping ground under my watch but a partner. I will apply competitively and bid for minerals mining licences in Ogun for companies to come and partner with us,” he said.
His proposed approach, he added, would seek to attract investors while ensuring that Ogun was not reduced to a mere supplier of raw materials or a dumping ground for mining-related activities.
Healthcare, sports, wealth creation
On healthcare, Adeola promised to sustain Abiodun’s free healthcare programme for residents aged 65 and above and build 20 hospitals, each in a four-storey building, across the state’s 20 local government areas.
He also pledged to revive sports, citing the state’s large youth population, which he said accounted for about 65 per cent of its population.
A new Ministry of Wealth Creation, he said, would provide an institutional framework for continuing his annual empowerment programmes and expanding opportunities for residents.
The proposed programmes, he argued, would complement industrialisation and infrastructure development by enabling more people to participate in the state’s economy.
10% of revenue for councils
Adeola also backed financial autonomy for local governments, promising to set aside 10 per cent of the state’s revenue for allocation to the councils.
He said stronger local administrations would bring governance closer to residents and reduce the burden on the state government.
“Effective LGAs will ensure less stress for the state because they will take care of a lot of things,” he said.
The proposal, if implemented, would make local councils important partners in delivering basic services and addressing community-level development needs.
Third attempt, Abiodun’s backing
His bid to return to Ogun politics, he said, had encountered resistance during the administration of former Governor Ibikunle Amosun, forcing him to return to Lagos politics.
He said his third attempt in 2023 succeeded with the support of Abiodun, who is now backing his governorship ambition.
“2023 was my third attempt to return to Ogun State to continue my political activities. God used Governor Dapo Abiodun to make it possible,” he said.
Adeola said his emergence as the APC governorship candidate placed him in a position to sustain the current administration’s policies and projects.
He maintained that Ogun had performed well under Abiodun, arguing that development involved both ‘seen’ projects, such as roads, schools and hospitals, and ‘unseen’ economic foundations that could deliver long-term prosperity.
He said his responsibility, if elected, would be to ensure that ongoing initiatives translated into tangible benefits for residents.
Ekiti origin claims are political gimmicks
The APC candidate also dismissed claims that he was from Ekiti State, insisting that both sides of his family originated from Ogun.
“My father is from Ogun State, my mother is from Ogun State. I am from Ogun State. Those who claim I am from Ekiti are jesters,” he said.
He equally rejected claims that his late father was buried in Ekiti, saying he was buried at the house he built on Ogunsola Street, Alaguntan, in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos.
“My father was not buried in Ekiti; my father was buried in the house he built at Ogunsola Street at Alaguntan in Alimosho,” he said.
Adeola described the claims as political tactics that would not succeed.
“They are just playing politics with ridiculous claims, and they will not succeed,” he added.
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