Disunity Can Cost Ogun West Guber Dream, Senate Leader Warns

James Sowole in Abeokuta

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has warned stakeholders in Ogun West senatorial district to unite and work towards  internal coherence to achieve their long-held desire to produce the next governor of the state for the first time in 2027

The Senate Leader said that it is quite unfortunate that Ogun West senatorial district has been unable to occupy the governorship seat of the state, unlike other two senatorial districts of Ogun East and Central, since its establishment 50 years ago.

According to Bamidele, the failure of the district should be blamed on the inability of the people of the zone to speak with one voice and present a consensus gubernatorial candidate over the years.

The senator cited the examples of 2019 and 2023 when two strong political candidates from the zone were presented on the platform of two different political parties, saying that such divisive politics would always stand in the way of the zone to achieve their long-held dream.

He stated that though he knew of other eminently qualified indigenes from the senatorial district who are also eyeing the governorship seat in 2027, he has been able to find out the groundswell support for Senator Solomon Adeola, who represents the senatorial district at the Senate.

He appealed to the stakeholders to consider building a consensus around the lawmaker.

Bamidele made the remarks at Ilaro while delivering his keynote address at an event organised by the Ogun West Professionals for Yayi to mobilise support towards producing the Ogun State governor in 2027.

The theme of the event is: ‘The Power of Internal Coherence in Securing External Support: Roadmap For Achieving Ogun West Gubernatorial Ambition in 2027’.

He added that the prolonged marginalsation of Ogun West in the governorship of Ogun State is not accidental but a cumulative product of structural exclusion and internal fragmentation.

The senator said, “While Ogun Central and Ogun East have enjoyed decades of executive leadership, Ogun West has remained politically underserved despite its economic and electoral value.

“The path forward requires urgent elite coordination, professional strategic planning, consensus-building, and disciplined political messaging.

“If Ogun West elites rise above personal ambition and unite behind a shared regional vision, the historical imbalance can finally be corrected.

“This paper concludes that internal coherence is not merely beneficial but indispensable for Ogun West’s governorship ambition in 2027.

“Unity will serve as political capital, unlocking party confidence, cross-district alliances, elite endorsement, and statewide voter legitimacy.

“Ultimately, Ogun West’s success depends less on external persuasion and more on internal discipline, consensus, and strategic maturity. If unity is achieved, external support will follow naturally.”

Bamidele said that,t interestingly and fortunately, the zone at their fingertip has “a very marketable hopeful, a rare breed, a thorough-bred politician, a quintessential lawmaker, a three-term distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the current chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, fondly called Yayi.”

Beyond being in a stable mainstream national political party, Bamidele said that Ogun West must line up behind a unifying political figure and a tested and trusted politician to run and brace the tape in 2027.

He explained that: “Once Ogun West put their best foot forward with the advocated coherence, it is not rocket science to know that fair-minded and well-meaning indigenes from other senatorial districts will readily lend external support. Just like external support is assured from outside of Ogun State.”

The Senate Leader said that though there is a groundswell of support and appeal that cuts across the state for Adeola, fondly called Yayi, but the stakeholders in the zone must reach out to other strong contenders from the zone and urge them to buy into the consensus gubernatorial candidate arrangement.

He charged the professionals and stakeholders that “you must go outside from here today facing the reality of the need for internal coherence to make this possible.

“You must help Senator Adeola to reach out to every stakeholder in Ogun West and reassure them of your commitment to mutual respect, decorum, and a sincere admission that you do not love Ogun West more than them..

“And neither do you, as a group or individually, deserve to be the beneficiary of the external support for Ogun West more than any other group or individual, realising that it is a collective struggle of five decades that is reaching a crescendo.

“You and Yayi  must be humble and sincere in your approach by recognising the roles of the past heroes in Ogun West, including political leaders and followers, community activists, traditional institutions, youth and women organisations and other stakeholders, dead or living, who had identified with this popular and agelong struggle.

Meanwhile, the forum in a communique issued at the end of the programme announced their endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for his second term come 2027

The group also reiterated its support for the Ogun West to produce the next governor of the state while also declaring its support for the gubernatorial ambition of Senator Adeola.

The forum commended the federal government led by President Tinubu for the ‘unprecedented infrastructural development across Ogun West senatorial district’.

The communique partly read: “The gathering agreed that we have never had it so good like this in the past in terms of federal presence spanning political appointments and infrastructural development in Ogun West senatorial district.

“As a result, we unanimously resolved to vote en masse for President Tinubu second term ambition.

“The engagement was anchored on the collective aspiration that Ogun West should produce the next Governor of Ogun State in 2027. Central to this objective is the provision of strategic professional support and the building of a broad-based consensus within the district.”

The Coordinator of the forum, Mr. Dapo Oke, said that the professionals in the zone organised the event to amplify support for the success of Adeola’s gubernatorial ambition given his unprecedented commitment to good governance and the desire to uplift the region out of the neglect of the past.