By A.R. Olanrewaju
The storm is no longer gathering over Ogun State’s All Progressives Congress; it has broken. The APC, a party that has caused millions of Nigerians pain and suffering, is now tearing itself apart from within, with open revolt, whispers of defections, and raw anger threatening to destroy the party before the 2027 elections. Is this good news for the masses? Your answer is as good as mine! At the center of this escalating chaos sits one name: Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly called Yayi. For many APC party faithful, elevating him to the governorship is not just a gamble, it is a catastrophic mistake the people of Ogun cannot afford.
It started with the tickets. Across the East, Central, and West, popular candidates were shoved aside while unpopular ones were forced down the throats of the grassroots. In Ogun East, serving Remo Federal Constituency lawmaker Elegbeji was denied a return ticket, So were several state House of Assembly members who had crossed over from the opposition, bringing energy and numbers with them. The message was clear: loyalty and performance mean nothing to the ruling party.
Then came the Senate. Current Ogun East Senator and former governor, Gbenga Daniel, popularly known as OGD has delivered above expectation and remains widely loved by the people. Yet the ticket was handed instead to outgoing underperforming Governor, Dapo Abiodun, a move critics brand as pure political overreach given the governor’s own widely criticized record. OGD has publicly stood firm for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election and branded vehicles for his campaign, but his silence on the state ticket speaks volumes. In politics, silence is rarely golden; at times it is often a warning.
The story repeats itself with brutal consistency. In Ogun Central, former Governor and senator, Ibikunle Amosun and his network were shut out of Senate, House of Representatives, and Assembly tickets. Rumors swirl that some of his loyalists have already drifted toward the PDP. The incumbent Central senator, Salisu, was imposed despite a performance many describe as below par, further alienating party leaders and members who felt their voices counted for nothing.
In the West the pattern is equally stark. Hardworking federal lawmakers such as Isiaq Abiodun Akinlade representing Ipokia/Yewa South, who was seeking a fifth term watched his return ticket vanish, other popular lawmakers who failed to secure the party’s ticket include, Tunji Akinosi of Ado-Odo/Ota and Femi Ogunbanwo of Ijebu Ode/Ijebu North East/Odogbolu. In their place came candidates widely seen as imposed by the governor and by Yayi himself. The result? Senior APC chieftains and their followers have openly vowed revenge at the polls. This is no longer internal disagreement. This is a party preparing to sabotage itself.
But the deepest wound is the governorship primary itself. The contest that produced Yayi left jaws on the floor. Rival Abayomi Hunye was recorded with zero votes, while Yayi swept nearly everything in a result so lopsided that political analysts called it bizarre. Hunye is already in court challenging the process. In Nigerian politics, a primary that looks fixed is not just a legal problem; it is electoral poison.
Layer onto this the fundamental question of belonging. Many within the party and across the state view Yayi as an outsider, someone with roots in Ekiti who built his political career representing Lagos. They would have preferred a true son of the soil such as Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, a man who has agitated for equity for the Yewa-Awori since 2011. Instead, the party finds itself defending a candidacy already entangled in court cases over perjury, indigene-ship claims, and the very primary that produced him. These legal battles are not abstract. They drain energy and sow doubt, at a time when the incumbent governor’s performance has already left many citizens disillusioned.
There is more. Whispers grow louder that Lagos-based politicians close to Yayi are circling, ready to seize key positions and influence if he wins. For a state jealous of its autonomy, the prospect of outsiders calling the shots in Abeokuta is toxic. In Ijebuland the anxiety takes an even more personal form: with the Awujale stool still vacant, some fear an outsider governor could influence the choice of a new traditional ruler in ways that undermine local roots and traditions.
Put all of this together and the picture is alarming. A party riddled with imposed candidates, a questionable primary, unresolved court cases, questions of true indigene-ship, and open threats of internal sabotage is not a vehicle for progress. It is a vehicle headed for a crash. Voting Yayi into the governorship would not merely reward this dysfunction, it would institutionalize it. Ogun cannot afford another cycle of division, underperformance, and external influence. The state has capable, rooted politicians who understand its people, its history, and its aspirations. They do not need an outsider to lead them.
Yayi’s path, leads back to Lagos or to the state some claim as his origin. Ogun will not tolerate what Ekiti would never accept in reverse. The people of this state know the difference between a genuine son of the soil and a political transplant. In 2027 they will have the chance to make that distinction count at the ballot box.
The mantra is Ogun for Ogun. Anything less is a costly mistake the state simply cannot survive.
