In Ogun State’s evolving political landscape, the Egba factor and the call for inclusive governance have once again taken centre stage. Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi), maternally rooted in Abeokuta and currently representing Ogun West in the Senate, has emerged as a formidable contender whose achievements and progressive pedigree position him as the candidate to beat. In this interview, Kunle Somorin, a former Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Ogun State, explores the realities of Ogun’s governorship race, the weight of history, and the promise of a politics of competence, capacity, and character over dynastic entitlement. BLESSING ADIMABUA brings the excerpts:
Since last weekend, the two leading contenders for Oke Mosan have been in Abeokuta consulting. How does the Egba bloc factor into this contest?
Since 1999, no governorship candidate has won Ogun State without Egba consolidation. Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North, Obafemi-Owode, Odeda, and the Egba fraction in Ifo together deliver over half a million votes. The Alake of Egbaland’s blessing carries symbolic and practical weight, signalling collective direction. Yayi’s maternal lineage ties him directly to Abeokuta, and his carnival-like homecoming capped by an audience with the Alake and all his principal was a reaffirmation of legitimacy.
