- Senator Opeyemi Bamidele urged Ogun West leaders to unite and plan strategically to achieve the zone’s first governorship in 2027
- Bamidele highlighted past election setbacks, citing internal divisions as the key reason Ogun West remained politically marginalised
- Ogun West Professionals for Yayi endorsed Senator Solomon Adeola as the district’s preferred governorship candidate and backed Tinubu’s second term
The Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has urged the people of Ogun West Senatorial District to embrace unity, internal coherence and strategic coordination if the zone is to realise its long-standing ambition of producing the governor of Ogun State for the first time in 2027.
Bamidele made the call on Sunday in Ilaro while delivering a keynote address at a programme organised by Ogun West Professionals For Yayi. His address, titled “The Power of Internal Coherence in Securing External Support: Roadmap for Achieving Ogun West Gubernatorial Ambition in 2027”, focused on the political marginalisation of the district and the steps required to correct it.
The Senate Leader described it as unfortunate that Ogun West, since the creation of Ogun State over 50 years ago, has never occupied the governorship seat, unlike Ogun East and Ogun Central. However, he said the failure should not be attributed solely to external forces, but rather to the inability of the zone’s political elite to speak with one voice.
According to Bamidele, internal divisions and the absence of a consensus candidate have consistently undermined the district’s chances. He cited the 2019 and 2023 governorship elections, when two strong candidates from Ogun West emerged on the platforms of different political parties, thereby weakening the zone’s collective bargaining power.
He argued that the prolonged marginalisation of Ogun West was not accidental but a result of “structural exclusion compounded by internal fragmentation”, despite the district’s economic relevance and electoral strength.
“While Ogun Central and Ogun East have enjoyed decades of executive leadership, Ogun West has remained politically underserved,” he said. “The path forward requires urgent elite coordination, professional strategic planning, consensus-building and disciplined political messaging.”
Bamidele stressed that unity would serve as political capital capable of unlocking party confidence, elite endorsement, cross-district alliances and statewide voter legitimacy. He maintained that once Ogun West achieves internal discipline and coherence, external support would naturally follow, both within and outside Ogun State.
In what appeared to be a clear endorsement, the Senate Leader described Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as a “very marketable hopeful” and a unifying political figure for the district. He praised Adeola as a seasoned lawmaker, a three-term senator and the current Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, urging the zone to rally behind a tested and trusted politician ahead of 2027.
At the end of the programme, the forum issued a communiqué endorsing President Bola Tinubu for a second term in 2027. The group also reiterated its support for Ogun West to produce the next governor of the state and unanimously endorsed Adeola as its preferred governorship candidate.
The communiqué commended the Federal Government for what it described as unprecedented infrastructural development and political inclusion across Ogun West, resolving to support President Tinubu’s re-election bid en masse.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Isiaq Salako, commended the group for mobilising support for Tinubu’s second-term ambition and Adeola’s governorship bid. The forum’s coordinator, Mr Dapo Oke, said the event was organised to consolidate professional backing for Adeola, while the steering committee chairman, Dr Yemisi Bamgbose, described the aspiration for Ogun West to produce a governor as overdue.
Bamgbose, who is also the Executive Secretary of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, praised Adeola’s record of representation, describing him as a selfless politician whose leadership, he said, has brought unprecedented development to the region.
As political activities gradually build towards the 2027 elections, Bamidele’s message underscored a growing push within Ogun West for unity, strategic maturity and collective resolve to finally break the district’s long-standing governorship jinx.