The 2027 governorship campaign of Senator Solomon Adeola has placed the longstanding absence of Ogun West from the governorship of Ogun State at the centre of his political ambition.
Adeola’s Media Adviser and Chief of Staff, Kayode Odunaro, said Ogun West had not produced a governor since the creation of the state in 1976, describing the situation as one of the factors behind the senator’s bid to govern Ogun State.
Odunaro, who also chairs the Media and Publicity Committee of the Ogun State APC Campaign Council, stated this on Monday during an interview on FRONTLINE, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State.
According to him, Adeola’s ambition was not being presented simply as a quest for political power for Ogun West, but as an attempt to address what the campaign considers an imbalance in political representation and development across the state.
“Senator Solomon Adeola happens to come from a district in Ogun West where, over the past 50 years and counting, they have not been opportuned to govern Ogun State as a whole,” Odunaro said.
He linked the issue of political representation to development concerns in the Yewa-Awori axis, saying residents had continued to express dissatisfaction with the level of infrastructure and development in the area compared with other parts of Ogun State.
“The people of Yewa have been complaining; looking at all the infrastructure in Ogun West, it happens to be like third class in Ogun State,” he said.
Odunaro said the campaign was presenting Adeola’s governorship bid as an opportunity to address the perceived imbalance while extending the proposed administration’s development focus to the entire state.
“Solomon Adeola is coming to Ogun State to fight and regain Ogun State reputation and legacy… Yewa Awori have been excluded completely from being in government,” he said.
The campaign official also cited Adeola’s record as a senator, claiming that he had facilitated development projects across Ogun State, particularly road infrastructure.
“Senator Solomon Adeola has done things that are unprecedented. Solomon Adeola has done more in infrastructure in Ogun State; about 300 road infrastructure have been done and some are being repaired by him,” Odunaro said.
He added that the senator’s interventions were intended to reduce what the campaign described as the development gap between Ogun West and Ogun Central and Ogun East.
Odunaro further argued that Adeola’s ambition should be viewed as a state-wide project rather than an exclusively Ogun West agenda.
He said an Adeola administration would also seek to build on what he described as the achievements of Governor Dapo Abiodun.
“The governor of our State has done very well, whatever Senator Solomon Adeola is doing will compliment it,” he said.
On political succession, Odunaro described the proposed transition from Abiodun’s administration to Adeola’s as potentially different from what he characterised as previous difficult successions in the state.
“Definitely, he is going to embark on continuity of the current governor’s agenda, Dapo Abiodun… Overtime Ogun State has had hostile succession. This will be the first time there will be a harmonious succession,” he said.
On the possibility of constructing a new airport in Ogun West, Odunaro said the project was not among Adeola’s immediate priorities, arguing that the state already has an existing airport.
“Building a new airport in Yewa is not a critical agenda for Senator Solomon Adeola, whereas we have one over there that is working perfectly,” he said.
He said the focus would instead be on improving the existing facility and making it more commercially viable.
“He is just going to improve on the already existing one. Maybe take it to a level that it will be so commercially viable that Ogun will continue to benefit from it,” Odunaro said.
The issue of Ogun West producing the next governor has featured prominently in the 2027 political debate. In May, Governor Dapo Abiodun also cited the district’s failure to produce a governor since Ogun State was created as part of the rationale for presenting Adeola to Ogun West APC stakeholders as the party’s consensus candidate.
Adeola’s candidacy has also generated separate political debates, including questions concerning his ancestry and eligibility to claim Ogun indigene status. Those issues remain distinct from the campaign’s argument that Ogun West deserves a turn at the governorship.
Odunaro said the 2027 contest should ultimately focus on the ability of candidates to deliver development and represent the interests of residents across Ogun State.
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