APC Chieftain Says Ogun Governorship Favourite Adeola Yayi Will Defeat PDP Rival at Polls, Not in Court
ABEOKUTA — A chieftain of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State says the party’s 2027 governorship candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi), does not need the exclusion of his main rival to win the election.
Hon. Kayode Oladele, Chairman of the Planning Committee of the Ogun State APC Presidential and Gubernatorial Campaign Council, said the APC is prepared to face Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu on the ballot and defeat him convincingly in the February 6, 2027 poll. Oladele was reacting to a recent Federal High Court ruling on Adebutu’s candidature. He said the judgment has not altered the APC’s strategy or confidence.
“We have never built our campaign around the possibility of Adebutu or any other candidate being excluded from the ballot. Our objective has always been to win the election convincingly, regardless of who contests against us,” Oladele said.
“A court judgment may determine whether a candidate gets on the ballot. However, it cannot determine how the people will vote. That decision belongs exclusively to the electorate.”
The former member of the House of Representatives added that stakeholder engagements across Ogun’s 20 local government areas — involving community development associations, religious leaders and other groups — show strong support for Senator Adeola and his nine-pillar ITESIWAJU development agenda.
He said the APC campaign will focus on infrastructure, education, healthcare, job creation and economic development, and on Adeola’s legislative and constituency record, rather than on the opposition’s legal challenges. Ogun State, which borders Lagos — Nigeria’s commercial capital — is considered a key battleground ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
