Yayi’s Road to Ogun Governorship Gets More Bumpy

Before now, he has been regarded as one of the strongest aspirants for Ogun State’s 2027 governorship race, but recent developments suggest that Senator Olamilekan Solomon Adeola’s long-nurtured dream may be unravelling before it fully takes root.

Yayi, as he is popularly known, is no stranger to high-stakes political horse-trading. A powerful figure in the National Assembly with a long political résumé that spans two decades—from the Lagos State House of Assembly to the House of Representatives and the Senate—he made a high-profile switch to Ogun politics in 2015 with eyes firmly set on the state’s number one job.

However, his foray into Ogun’s political terrain has been anything but smooth. In both 2015 and 2019, he was blocked from contesting by political power blocs, notably during the administration of former Governor IbikunleAmosun.

He later aligned with Governor DapoAbiodun, contributing to the latter’s re-election effort in 2023, a move Yayi often credits himself for. Since then, he has taken his ambition public, with bold declarations and extensive mobilisation, often to the discomfort of the ruling establishment in the state.

This year’s Lisabi Festival, a cherished cultural event among the Egba people, became a political litmus test for Yayi.

The senator, who had become increasingly assertive in Egba socio-political circles, was reportedly denied access to the festival venue, a symbolic rebuke by the organisers.

Sources close to the event organisers confirmed that the move was deliberate and aimed at preventing the senator from dominating the programme and turning it into a political showcase.

Yayi’s exclusion was widely interpreted as a subtle but powerful rejection by the Egba political establishment. They see his perceived overreach as an attempt to outshine the governor at public events by planting loyalists in key federal appointments.

Barely weeks after the Lisabi snub, Yayi was at the centre of yet another cultural-political showdown, this time in Ijebuland.

The influential Ojude Oba Festival, which was held on June 8, had reportedly designated him as the “Chairman of the Day.” Preparations were underway, with banners, congratulatory messages, and event materials already in circulation. But in a dramatic twist, Yayi was dropped just hours before the event.

A source confirmed that the senator’s nomination did not receive the express approval of the paramount ruler, who had been away on a routine medical trip.

Another source familiar with the planning committee’s inner workings disclosed that some stakeholders viewed Yayi’s nomination as inappropriate, arguing that it could politicise a traditionally apolitical event and send the wrong signal about Ijebuland’s stance in the 2027 gubernatorial race.

While Yayi’s camp insisted that his sidelining was orchestrated by political forces wary of his rising profile, the optics were unmistakable: he had now been publicly rebuffed in two of the state’s major cultural centres – Egbaland and Ijebuland.

He remains a political heavyweight, though, with a formidable war chest.  However, the recent cultural rebuffs suggest that his acceptance across the state’s diverse political landscape is not guaranteed.

This, we gathered, is another pointer that his journey to Oke-Mosan, Ogun State governor’s office wouldn’t be as smooth as he envisaged.