The numbers from the Ogun State APC governorship primary were not impressive; the better description is disorienting.
Senator Solomon Adeola, known across the state as Yayi, polled 304,055 votes. His opponent, Abayomi Hunye, scored zero. Not a small margin. Not a comfortable lead. Zero, including in Hunye’s own home ward. Results like that do not happen by accident; they are the product of years of methodical grassroots work finally showing its full weight.
The primary victory was itself the product of a political alignment unusual in South-west Nigeria. Incumbent Governor Dapo Abiodun and all three living former governors of the state, Olusegun Osoba, Gbenga Daniel, and Ibikunle Amosun, men who have spent years in various configurations of rivalry with one another, collectively endorsed Yayi as the consensus candidate.
President Bola Tinubu’s alignment with the candidacy added federal weight to an already consolidated state position. When political figures who rarely agree on anything agree on one name, it is worth examining why.
Part of the answer is track record. Yayi arrived in Ogun State from Lagos politics in 2023 and won the Ogun West Senate seat convincingly, a fact that already told observers something about his ability to build loyalty quickly in new terrain. Since then, he has delivered 53 infrastructure projects across Ogun West, spanning roads, primary healthcare centres, schools, and solar-powered markets. These projects function as a preview rather than a promise
